


Chained swords

by hybristophilica



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Backstory, Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Bruises, Childhood Friends, Cutting, Enemies, Enemies to Lovers, Fainting, Getting to Know Each Other, Hanamiya's knife, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Injury, Loyalty, M/M, Mild Gore, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Punching, Slapping, Starvation, Torture, Trust, Violence, Waterboarding, Whipping, Wounds cleaning, aomine doesn't have a good time but when does he after all?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:34:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26130463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hybristophilica/pseuds/hybristophilica
Summary: Daiki is the First Knight of the kingdom and he has sworn his life to protecting it and its princess Satsuki. When one day Shogo, the illegitimate son of the king, starts a revolution with the help of his right arm Taiga, Daiki is captured and will have to prove how much he can endure for the sake of the princess.Or, a love story, born in the prison of the castle, between a captive and his guard.
Relationships: Aomine Daiki & Momoi Satsuki, Aomine Daiki/Kagami Taiga
Comments: 29
Kudos: 47





	1. Blue Wing

**Author's Note:**

> english isn't my first language, so please let me know if there are mistakes!

Daiki stood on the threshold of Satsuki’s bedroom with his arms folded at the chest, a serene smile lingering on his lips at the sight of his best friend dressing in the dim light of the morning. It was her big day, but he had the feeling he was more excited than she was. 

It had been a sorrowful week for the kingdom. After the unexpected death of the king, there had been confusion and a general sense of bewilderment, and nobody seemed to know what to do exactly. The Council of the Ancient ones had been unprepared as everyone else, and it had taken a couple of days, but it confirmed at last what the folks and the royalty had anticipated. That Satsuki was the legitimate heir to the throne. The ceremony had been announced soon after. 

Daiki had always known this moment would have come, sooner or later, and yet, watching her spin around the mirror, wearing the pink dress that had been her mother’s, he felt a sting of melancholy hit him. She was still so young, and now those tiny shoulders would have to carry the weight of all the responsibilities leading a kingdom would bring. Her future wasn’t as bright and careless like they’d thought it would be no more than seven days ago, but Daiki knew one thing. He wouldn’t let her go through this alone. Where she went, he went. 

The maids helped Satsuki wear stockings and shoes, and once she was ready, she turned to Daiki and smiled weakly. The loss of her father had taken a toll on her, and yet she was still smiling like that, for him. “How do I look?” She asked, walking to him to take his hand. 

Daiki looked at her again, pushing a long lock of pink hair behind her ear. “You look beautiful, Satsuki.” One of the maids inhaled sharply at those words, but Daiki ignored her. He was used to servitude getting outraged in front of the liberties he took with her. Daiki didn't call her Princess, or your Majesty, or your Highness like the rest of them. Daiki was her brother and best friend, as well as her First Knight and head of her Guard. 

“Your Highness, the crowd is in trepidation. The parade is ready, the Ancient ones are waiting for your arrival to start the ceremony,” one of the maids coming from the hallway informed. 

Daiki nodded in acknowledgement, then turned to Satsuki. “Ready?”

She nodded, taking his hand in hers. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go.” 

Followed by Satsuki’s three personal maids, they exited the princess’s rooms and headed to the garden outside of the royal castle, where the Council and the rest of the people was waiting for them. Daiki squeezed Satsuki’s hand when he felt her tense up in apprehension. “It’ll be okay,” he muttered, keeping his eyes fix on the round stand they had yet to reach. The maids stopped behind them and Daiki and Satsuki proceeded alone towards the old men about to crown her Queen. 

“Promise me you won’t ever leave me,” Satsuki whispered, so low Daiki could barely hear it. The crowd’s murmurs were growing louder at every step they took towards the heart of the garden, but Daiki made sure she heard him when he answered, “I promise it.” Then he let her hand go, watching her back as Satsuki stepped between two members of the Council. The crown was set on a rather imposing pedestal of marble and it shone with tiny rubies and threads of silver, alluring and elegant. Daiki took place at the feet of the stand, watching from below Satsuki kneeling in front of the other two. 

Daiki had never assisted to a crowning ceremony, but, like every other ceremony, it started slow, with a lot of big words he didn't fully understand nor needed to. It was only symbolic, he knew, and so wished they could just jump to the point. Royal matters were so overly and unnecessarily complicated. While yet another old woman started speaking, remembering the king’s glorious actions in war and how prosperous the kingdom had been under his guidance, Daiki found himself utterly bored. He tried to turn around subtly, just not to look like someone that wanted to be anywhere else, and when he managed to get a glimpse of the crowd, he noticed he wasn’t the only one having an hard time bearing with all that talk. Some kids were already starting to play with their mothers’ gowns, the maids pointing dresses of each other and other women, and some men…some men were moving through the crowd. Daiki frowned, squinting his eyes. He caught a movement here, another there, and for some reason, he couldn’t understand why they made him uneasy. Something didn't feel right. 

“…And that brings us to you today, Princess Satsuki,” one of the men of the Council was saying, making Daiki turn around again. “The majority of the Council has decreed you to be the legitimate heir to the throne.” Something in the wording of the sentence made Daiki’s nerves tense. Now he _knew_ something was definitely wrong. His fingers wrapped around the hilt of his sword while the man continued. “But I personally voted against, because you’re…not the only heir of the king!”

The crowd exploded into a gasp, and even Aomine couldn’t contain his surprise. What was that guy saying? Satsuki was only child, Daiki knew that for sure, because he grew up with her since they were still very, very young. Satsuki’s eyes were wide with shock and confusion, and Daiki took a step forward, wanting to diminish the distance between them.

“You all heard me right! The princess is not the only heir to the throne! I, like others, many more than you could expect, have been waiting in the shadows for this moment, for this chance to come!” The voice of the man roared in the astonished silence of the crowd. Daiki didn't understand what was going on. There were too many implications behind what he declared, but at the moment his only concern was Satsuki’s safety. He inched forward slowly careful not to be noticed by the man. 

“And in this glorious day, I can finally help prince Shogo rise to his rightful place! Death-to-the-princess!” 

There was a slice of silver cutting through the air and several shouts arose from the crowd as the sword of the man fell, aimed to Satsuki’s neck. But it instead met the metal of Daiki’s one. “Satsuki, _run_!” He shouted, holding onto the hilt with both shaking hands, because the man was pouring the frustration of his fail onto him. Satsuki took a few moments to react, still too shocked to fully process what was happening, but when she did, she slid under the man’s arm, kicking him harshly in the side and sending him against one of the guards running towards them.

Daiki pulled her by the arm and looked around, his sword brandished up in the air. He couldn’t trust the Council anymore. He didn't know who this Shogo was, but if he really was another son of the king and if his followers wanted Satsuki’s head, then they were automatically Daiki’s enemies, and it was safe to assume they had been planning this for a long while.

Someone shouted a signal loudly a moment later and the real fight started. Some of the guards placed around the stand of the coronation turned their weapons against Daiki and Satsuki, while others, dumbstruck with surprise but quick of reflex, appeared between them and the princess. 

“We have to get away from here,” Daiki spurred, trying to find a way to cross the gardens safely. Many people were running away, scared by the sudden turn of the events and the unexpected rebellion. Women and children would have been his priority if Satsuki’s life wasn’t on the line. He could just hope that since impending the coronation was the deserters’ goal, there wouldn’t be victims among civilians.

Daiki surpassed a bunch of men using their fists and pushed Satsuki to the side. If they walked along the walls there was a chance they would go unnoticed. But they weren’t lucky enough for that, apparently. 

“The princess is right there! Get her now! I want her _dead_!” Someone shouted, but Daiki couldn’t understand who it had been to speak. All he knew was that the situation was getting out of his control, and the more they waited here, the more he let the fight continue, the less chances he had to bring Satsuki away alive. 

Daiki hit a young man that ran towards them with the hilt of his sword, knocking him out with another well aimed punch, then wrapped his arm around Satsuki’s shoulders, urging her to proceed while a revolution took place all around them. These rebels weren’t organized as Daiki’s pessimism had brought him to believe, but they were a lot more than he could have counted. Royal guards, some maids and several soldiers as well had revolted against Satsuki in order to favor this other heir. There were only two people he could really trust, and as he forced his way through the mess the betrayal had caused, Daiki looked for them. 

He found them while they fought three soldiers at the gate of the garden, and the wave of relief that hit him made his thighs quiver. They were still on his side. “Tetsu! Ryouta!” He called, running with Satsuki towards them. Aomine didn't hesitate to slit the traitors’ throats with the blade of his sword, angrily wiping their blood off it right after.

“Daiki! What the hell is happening?!” Ryouta asked, panting heavily. Daiki shook his head. He didn't know, but there was no time for stopping to think about it. 

“We need to take Satsuki away right now,” he said, pointing to the faraway green hills that spread outside the walls of the city. “She can’t stay in the city anymore, not until we understand who this Shogo is and how many people are with him.” Tetsu nodded at his words, stepping beside Satsuki with the bow ready in his arms.

Before they could leave, someone jumped in the middle, dividing Daiki from the rest of the group. “You’re not going anywhere,” the man said, looking at each of them and studying their weapons and gear, calculating his chances. Daiki’s sword was ready for an eventual attack, but the man hadn’t moved yet. He kept on walking around, playing with his preys but not hunting yet. _He’s taking time,_ Daiki realized with horror. With each second passing, more rebels could notice Satsuki and come for her.

“Tetsu! Take her away _now_!” Daiki shouted, bringing his sword down to clash with his opponent’s.

“Daiki, no! Come with us!” Satsuki cried, but Daiki saw from the corner of his eye that Ryouta was helping Tetsu pull her away against her will. He thanked the gods that his friends understood the seriousness of the situation, and that realized that Satsuki’s safety was their utmost priority.

The man in front of him realized what had happened a moment too late, and with an angry growl he tried to shove Daiki to the side so he could follow the others outside of the gate. “I don’t fucking think so,” Daiki groaned, grabbing the man by his shoulders and trying to kick him behind the knees to make him fall, but the man was as strong and at least as trained as Daiki, so he didn't even stumble. He seemed to realize that it was now too late to reach the princess -and that thought allowed Daiki a breath of relief- because he turned his attention completely to Daiki.

Daiki felt the adrenaline of the battle run through his veins. Now it was only he and his sword against that man and his sword. Daiki’s thoughts shifted again on how Satsuki had looked less than two hours ago, graceful and so beautiful while she prepared for the ceremony, her big day. Her eyes had been so full of hope, her smile promising a brighter future despite all the difficulties. And that future was now at risk because of these back stabbers, these filthy traitors. Daiki felt the anger grow in his core and it was good, because it fueled him and gave him energy for the fight. 

He charged, raising his sword in the air and aiming at the man’s exposed neck. The man had stopped running towards him for some reason, but Daiki continued, shouting with passion, and then something metallic hit him at the back of his head. The impact was so painful it took his voice and breath away as he fell on the ground, laying on his stomach, vision blackened at the edges.

Then, a voice resounded in his ears. Despite the noise coming from every corner of the gardens, Daiki understood every word perfectly. “Taiga, where is the princess?” The tone of the man speaking was hard and it let barely contained anger transpire. 

“I—they took her away, sir. I couldn’t do anything about it because this soldier stepped in my way!” The man Daiki had fought with, said Taiga, explained.

A short silence followed. A foot nudged Daiki’s face, then some hands made him roll to lay on his back. A little gasp, a throaty laugh. “Well well, Taiga. _This soldier,_ ah! He’s not a soldier, you stupid dog, he’s a knight. It looks like you got us the Blue wing.” The same man continued and then grabbed Daiki’s face in his hand. “You might not be the princess, but you’re not completely useless for us either.” Daiki’s vision was spinning and everything was too blurry to clearly see the speaker’s face, and Daiki must have looked pathetic, because another laugh followed. “Now sleep, First Knight. We’ll see each other again really soon.” Then a punch sent him into a dark abyss.


	2. You feign kindness and bite poison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There was fire in Daiki’s eyes. Like his hair, blue, but they burned like fire, blue fire fueled by rage. There was a fierceness and a mirror of pride in them that made Taiga doubt his own threats for one moment."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for graphic violence/torture, please check the tags and be mindful reading! 

Taiga had tried to make Shogo change his mind about the plan multiple times, but every advice he dispensed fell on deaf ears. Shogo couldn’t be refrained anymore, not after the unexpected death of the king. Despite his will, Taiga had to admit it was a chance more unique than rare that wouldn’t happen again any soon. The ceremony of incarnation of the daughter of the king would take place soon, it was inevitable. A kingdom left without a ruler, even for a short period of time, would be a huge target for the other realms around, a reckless risk that didn't need to be taken, so it was safe to assume the Council would hurry with the preparations of the ceremony.

And just like Taiga had predicted, after two days, Princess Satsuki marched towards the crown in the royal gardens, surrounded by well camouflaged traitors. 

It would have been easy to kidnap her. It _should_ have been easy, if it wasn’t for that blue haired soldier, no, knight, like Shogo had said. He had been a variable Taiga hadn’t considered. He fought well, a lot better than the average soldier of the kingdom, and he’d been smart to let the other two men with him take the Princess away before Kagami’s men could arrive. It had been his mistake, and now he had to pay the consequences. 

“Do you realize that if you had been a _tiny little bit_ more intelligent, or skilled with that sword of yours, now the head of the Princess would lie on a tray of silver in the hall?” Shogo sneered at him. Taiga repressed a groan but nodded, because it was useless to argue with Shogo when he was like this. 

They were in the royal castle. The undercover guards and servitude had helped them conquer the gardens and the surroundings, and it had been a piece of cake to get in the castle after that.

Despite the part where they killed the Princess failed, Shogo had decided to settle in the castle anyway, and Kagami had agreed. It was the wisest move for someone that wanted to steal the throne to the legitimate heir, a symbolic win, a challenge for everyone out there to come and see him while he sat on the golden throne of the King. It was true that things had taken an unexpected turn, but they could still succeed. Taiga wanted to explain that. 

“Shogo— _Sir_ ,” he corrected himself when the other shot him a glare in front of the other guards. “I understand the loss of the Princess might slow the plan down, but we cannot stop now. Not when we managed to get our hands on the royal castle and its soldiers. We need to order our men to spread word through the city that there will be a new King really soon, and that things are about to change.”

Shogo looked unimpressed, with his lags lazily thrown across the armrest of the golden throne. “And what do you suggest to do? Let’s hear.”

Taiga tried not to squirm under the penetrating gaze of the other, fidgeting with the belt of his armor. “I suggest sending some of ours in the city. Let them patrol and sow fear. They’re still shocked from what happened this morning, but if we don’t use their fear to our advantage they might just decide to riot against us. Some of them might be keeping the Princess safe in their house, for all we know. We _need_ eyes and ears in the city.” Shogo was listening more carefully to him now, Taiga could read it in the glow of his eyes, so he went on. “Start inflicting punishments and make it in public, so that they can all see what you’re capable of. Make them respect you and your authority. No room for forgiveness, at least for these first days.”

Shogo was silent for a long while. His eyes stared out of the window, where voices and shouts were coming from the heart of the city. Taiga didn't fully agree with everything he had just said, but he knew it was the only way their break-in in the kingdom wouldn’t get stopped. They needed to keep every single person within the walls of the city under control, at all costs. 

“I think you’re right, Taiga,” Shogo answered at last. He stood up and licked the pad of his thumb with a smirk. “I will make all of them kneel to me. They’ll learn not only to respect me, but to fear me.” Shogo walked in front of him, pretending to polish the front of Taiga’s armor. “See? Even you can get some good ideas, some time.” Taiga wanted to point out that most of the ideas that activated this plan were his, and that Shogo would be completely and utterly lost if it wasn’t for his experience and guidance in war, but he shut up. Better to let him think this highly of himself. Shogo laughed at his face, then made him stumble back of some steps with a push. “But.” Oh no. “But you still failed your most important task. And like you said, you shall be punished accordingly.” Fucking hell, seriously? 

One of the other guards stepped forward then. “I’m sorry Sir, but we’re already very short of men at the moment, and Taiga is our best fighter, so if you’re going to ex—“

“I am not going to execute him, you useless ball of slime,” Shogo spat, glaring so hard at that poor man that Taiga feared he would melt. “I just don’t want to see him around me for some days, so I’m giving him a special job, one he won’t fail at, since his target is in fucking chains and unable to run away.” Taiga didn't miss the hint of deprecation in his tone. Shogo was never going to let that mistake of Taiga slide, was he?

“He will guard the Blue wing in his cell until I say otherwise.”

Taiga couldn’t stop himself from stepping forward and shake his head with vehemence. “Shogo! You can’t do this right now! You need me to lead the—“

Shogo grabbed him by the collar with both hands, an ugly scowl darkening his features. “I don’t need you to do shit, Taiga. And you will address me as Your Majesty from now on, like the rest of those miserable ants, and you will fucking obey my orders. Is that clear enough?!” 

Taiga wanted to punch him. He wanted to shove his face against the nearest wall and scrape it with his nose. But he didn’t. Instead, he swallowed his pride, still burning red with anger, and lowered his head slightly. “As you wish. _Your Majesty._ ”

Shogo let him go with a shove, moving to sit on the cold throne once again. “Now go. I don’t want to see your ugly face around for a long while.”

Taiga made sure the doors of the throne room slammed shut very loudly when he left.

—

Daiki didn't remember being brought back inside the castle, but right now he definitely _was_ inside the castle. More specifically, in one of the cells of the dungeon, underground. The cell had a round shape and was built in stone bricks, with no openings beside the door and the tiny window in a narrow recess on the back of the cell, which Daiki assumed was the bathroom. There were candles hanging from the ceiling and spiderwebs linking them together, threatening to wrap Daiki in their white knots whenever he least expected it.

He took his head in his hands, trying to recall the last events. The coronation. The Council's betrayal. The rebellion led by the other heir. _Satsuki. Satsuki is safe_. The realization that Ryouta and Tetsu had really managed to take her away before the rebels could harm her hit him all together, almost overwhelming him. She was safe, and that was all that mattered.

On the other hand, his situation wasn’t exactly…ideal. After getting knocked out by somebody in the garden, Daiki knew he had missed a great part of the battle, but given the chains tying his wrists together and one of his feet to the wall, he assumed that Shogo had won. For now. What he didn’t understand was why they decided to bring him here. If it was Satsuki’s death what they were after, and therefore the crown, what relevance could Daiki have?

Loud and fast steps echoed through the cold walls of the dungeon, approaching Daiki’s cell. A key unlocked the door and Daiki was on his feet, ready to fight whoever was behind it. And behind it was the man with red hair, the one Daiki had been about to fight in the garden. He didn't remember his name, but he knew he worked for Shogo. “You!” He growled, trying to bring a fist up, but with all the weight of the chains his arms were brought back down. He moved forward to attack, but the chain around his ankle prevented him to, and he almost fell face-first on the ground. 

The man stared at him with a blank expression, neither surprised to find him there nor impressed to see him ready to fight. “Yeah, I’m not happy to be here either, so shut it already,” he replied bitterly, grabbing a little wooden chair someone passed him from the hallway and placing it in front of the door, closing it behind. He sat down and stared at Daiki, not speaking a word for several moments, and that was what set Daiki’s voice off.

“What do you want? Where is the other guy? Why did you bring me here?!” Daiki asked with frenzy, his tongue rolling with questions that had been spinning around his head since he’d woken up. 

The man rolled his eyes. “Why do you think? We lost the Princess because of _you_ , so you’re going to help us track her down. If not...then it won’t be a good week for you, I fear.”

Daiki scoffed, leaning back against the wall of the cell. He tried to cross his arms at the chest and failed because of the handcuffs, so he dropped them entirely. “Like hell I will. There’s nothing you can do to make me help you. And who the fuck are you, anyway? Did they send you to guard a chained man?”

That seemed to raise the man’s attention again. He sat at the edge of the chair, studying Daiki with a watchful red gaze. “I am Taiga, right arm of the King. I was sent here to guard you, Blue Wing. The King is very well aware that a few chains might not stop you. Now, tell us where the Princess is hiding. Is she still in the city, or has she left for the hills? The woods, maybe?” The man spoke almost calmly, but there was an edge to his voice, something similar to regret or bitterness, and a lot of eagerness to know, as if his life depended on it.

Now Daiki knew why he was still alive, why they’d brought him here. They were aware that it was impossible for them to find the Princess on their own, not without his help. They probably were desperate to put their hands on Satsuki simply because without a real submission of the supposed legitimate heir, or her death, the new ruler couldn’t ever truly be accepted. Shogo could never triumph, not for real, not with the endorsement of the entire kingdom, if Satsuki was still alive and against him.

“He is no King,” Daiki objected, feeling the anger grow inside of him once again. “Satsuki— the Princess is the heir to the throne, and only she has the right to sit on it! You’re full of shit, _Taiga,_ you and your fucking disgust—“ he didn’t manage to finish because Taiga, quick as lightening, jumped off the chair and punched him in the stomach. Daiki coughed, gritting his teeth.

“Listen very carefully, Daiki,” Taiga started, grabbing Daiki’s hair and pulling his head back so they were face to face. “I’m running very low on patience lately, and I sure as hell don’t have any to spare for you. Tell me where the Princess is and I will be…indulgent, with you. Fucking try to attack me again and you’ll regret it.”

As answer, Daiki pulled his head back a bit just to shove it forward as hard as he could, hitting Taiga’s. Both of them groaned, and even if Taiga seemed to have it worse, he quickly recovered and kicked Daiki’s knee to make him fall. “ _Fine_ then. Have it your way, but don’t say I didn't warn you.” He left the room in a rush right after, still holding his forehead.

“Yeah, run to daddy!” Daiki laughed behind him, resting his back against the wall. He had no idea what that Taiga had in store for him, but he wasn’t too worried at the moment. They would hurt him, maybe torture him even, but despite the thought wasn’t encouraging, Daiki felt strangely calm. He wouldn’t talk, never. And thanks to his silence, Satsuki would be safe, and she and Tetsu and Ryouta could organize the army for a revolution. He trusted they would. Daiki didn't know for sure where those two had brought her, but he had some ideas. There were a few hideouts that came to his mind, places they had found in the woods together when they were younger, a secret of the three of them only that made the perfect spot to hide a princess on the run. Yes, the only chance Shogo and Taiga had to find her was if Daiki talked, and he was sure they would try anything to make that happen. He enjoyed the solitude of his first day in prison, because he had the feeling it was about to change very soon.

— 

Taiga knew it had been stupid to hit the man at the first chance he got. He was frustrated because of the previous fight with Shogo and his carelessness and stupidity, and he had dumped it on the knight. It’s not like he regretted it. The fucker was insufferable and it _did_ feel good to hit that arrogant face of his, but Taiga’s first plan was usually diplomacy. He wanted to go there, ask him to cooperate, explain his reasons and lie about them. And instead he’d lost control and hit him, burning his chances of a pacific confrontation. Oh well. The man didn't seem to realize the situation he was in, but he would very soon. Taiga had talked to Shogo after the fight because he needed his authorization, at least formally, before proceeding with what he had in mind for the prisoner. If he didn't want to talk now, he would soon.

The next morning, after a good night of rest, Taiga felt ready to face the day. And also that blue haired asshole. When he opened the door of the cell with his foot, he found Daiki sleeping on the bunch of blankets some servants had brought him the previous night. He approached him and kicked him in the calf, smirking at the grunt the now half awake man gave. “If it was for me, I wouldn’t have let you even have a bed.” He walked back to the forgotten chair of the day before and placed it in front of the door. He could feel Daiki’s eyes following him, now very much awake and reactive. He was probably wondering what Taiga had come there for. It was amusing to see the small mechanism of his brain try to understand.

“What, did your King send you here to babysit me?” Daiki asked with a small smirk, cocky. Taiga didn't reply. He leaned heavily against the back of the chair, making it lose balance so that he could rest the head against the wall behind him. Daiki sat up, pulling one knee up to lean his chin on it. He still had that arrogant look that made Taiga want to hit him again, but he wouldn’t, not this time. If he wanted to break him, he needed to be patient. 

“You could say that. My literal orders are to ‘guard the Blue Wing in his cell’ until _he_ says otherwise’ so you better get used to this,” Taiga replied calmly, looking back into the pair of blue eyes staring at him. He couldn’t quite understand what meant the expression Daiki wore at that moment. Some perplexity, perhaps. He settled straight on the chair once again and let an empty silence fall. 

Three hours later, there was a knock on the door. A maiden carrying a small tray entered, leaving the tray in Taiga’s expecting hands. Daiki’s eyes had a glint of curiosity in them, as if the good smell awoke some interest in him. Ah, poor guy, he had no idea what Taiga had planned for him. 

Taiga thanked the woman and allowed her to leave, then he started eating the soup with gusto, not meeting the confused gaze he knew Daiki was looking at him with. He hadn’t spoken a word yet, and he had no intention to. This job was going to be ten times easier if that sharp tongue of Daiki was tied, and Taiga surely wouldn’t be the one to start a conversation. Finishing the bowl of soup, he started eating meat and bread until not a crumb was left on the tray. Taiga set it down on the floor and slid it in the opening under the door, wiping his mouth. When he looked at Daiki, he caught him staring before he could look away, but that moment had been enough to let Taiga know the prisoner had understood what game he was playing at. 

Taiga had to admit that Daiki’s stubbornness was impressive. It had been two whole days now, two days during which Taiga had denied him food and water. He’d asked him about the Princess’s whereabouts more than one time, but Daiki had glared at him with a confident shrug. Taiga hadn’t left the cell except for short bathroom breaks, and for two days he’d watched Daiki starve. He didn't make a show of his suffering, of course not. He slept a lot, which was probably the wisest decision he’d made so far, but Taiga could read it in his eyes that he wasn’t having a good time. The sound of his stomach growling was often the only noise in the cell, sometimes accompanied by the clang of Taiga’s fork as he ate. Three times a day. Right in front of him. But Daiki didn't beg one time for a crumb of his food, he limited himself to look away, to pretend he was alone.

It was…really boring, to be honest. Taiga was trying to keep himself entertained in every way possible, but there was only so much he could do in an empty cell with a man that didn't even look at him. He never complained, he didn't beg, and Taiga was finding himself more frustrated than him. Daiki had been right, he was babysitting him right now, and only because Shogo was an asshole whose pride was busted by the authority he gained thanks to Taiga’s help and the violence he perpetuated. Taiga knew he didn’t deserve to be treated like this, guarding a prisoner that couldn’t escape anyway from the chain bounding him to the wall. His presence here was only a reminder that Shogo thought he didn't need him, and that he considered Taiga nothing more than a pawn to move whenever and wherever he wanted to, but that otherwise rested unused in his corner, in silence. 

The third day, right after finishing the food a servant brought, Taiga stood up to stretch his limbs. He strolled around in the cell, casually glancing in Daiki’s direction. The captive had his head rested against the wall, his eyes closed and his eyebrows scrunched slightly as his stomach emitted a low growl. He was clearly hungry, very dehydrated too, obviously. Taiga knew they couldn’t keep him starving for any more than another day. Killing him wasn’t in his plans, nor in Shogo’s, hopefully; they needed him alive, even if barely. They needed him to talk.

“You know, it would be easy to ask for the maids to bring you some food. With water, or wine, maybe. You only need to tell us where she is and you’ll be fed.” Taiga stood in front of him on the other side of the room, resting against the wall too with his arms crossed. 

Daiki opened his eyes, looking for him in the dim lights of the room, and when his eyes laid on Taiga, they were full of disgust. “I don’t need to be fed,” he hissed. In return, his stomach growled again, and his expression let a flash of irritation pass. 

Taiga smirked, huffing a sarcastic laugh. “Why are you acting like this? All you need to do is talk, tell us where the Princess is, or maybe her friends at least, and we won’t lay a finger on you. You’ll be free to eat and maybe even go away, if I convince Shogo.” Taiga was making it sound as if Shogo really would give him that kind of power, when in truth Taiga knew that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Shogo listened to him only when he realized he was too dumb to handle the situations he put himself in alone. But he would never let Taiga decide the future of a prisoner, especially of Daiki’s caliber. 

The other shook his head with a sigh. He looked almost…tired of listening to Taiga ask him the same question again and again. “You can let me starve, for all I care. I’m not going to talk, dickhead. Tell your fucking impostor of a king that.” Taiga’s fists tightened at his sides and he stepped forward in an impulse of anger. He had to bear with Shogo’s insults for the sake of his own position, but he had no intentions of being pushed around by a mere prisoner. He fisted Daiki’s hair and pulled them harshly to the side, making the man roll on his side against the wall and almost fall on the ground. 

“You will change your mind. This is only the start, First Knight. You will not like one bit what Shogo has planned for you in case these three days of deprivation failed. You’ll see.” Taiga let him go and dodged the bow that would have broken his nose if he’d been slower. There was fire in Daiki’s eyes. Like his hair, blue, but they burned like fire, blue fire fueled by rage. There was a fierceness and a mirror of pride in them that made Taiga doubt his own threats for one moment. Seeing Daiki so determined to keep his mouth shut to the point of risking his own safety had him wonder if they were wasting time with him. 

Another half day went by before Taiga left a soldier to guard the door in his place. He headed to the throne room to receive his next instructions. Taiga had never been in the royal palace before, and since he’d spent all the time in the prison with Daiki, he took the chance for a short but carefree explorative walk. The walls were tall and painted in gold and white, accommodating wide mirrors and old-looking paintings of battles, myths and family portraits. There were dozens of them: the king and the queen smiling at each other, a pink haired girl, the Princess, playing with a too big crown, the same girl with another kid, a blue haired boy, playing in the gardens of the castle. Taiga stopped in front of that one. The kid had to be Daiki, and the realization that the knight might have known the princess personally suddenly astounded him. That would explain why he was so headstrong about not talking. The one between him and the Princess wasn’t strictly a bond of duty, there was real affection there. It was clear in the way the two kids looked at each other in that painting and in the others that accompanied Taiga along his path to the throne room. He forgot to glance at the rest of the valuable furniture and fine household goods, and pushed the doors open. 

“There he is! Taiga, we were just talking about you!” Shogo’s laughter welcomed him. Taiga moved his gaze to the other man in the room and a shiver ran down his spine. Taiga hadn’t seen him in months, and he could have lived without seeing him ever again. It was never good to have him around, and he had an awful feeling about the reason for his presence here. The man was currently standing beside the throne with his usual shit-eating smirk, looking gross as ever as he waved slushily at Taiga. He forced himself to assume a respectful posture and expression. 

“Hanamiya, what a pleasure to see you. It’s been a while,” he greeted with a pulled smile, approaching them with slow, calculated steps. 

“I wish I could say the same,” Hanamiya leered, exchanging a look with Shogo. The other rolled his eyes, shimmying his hand in the air to shut them both up.

“Yes, yes, how nice of us to be all together again. Now, Taiga, have you come to update me on your progress with the Blue Wing? Did he talk already?”

Taiga chewed his lower lip, shaking his head. “No, Sir. He hasn’t eaten or drunk anything for three days, but he hasn’t spoken a word at all.” 

He expected Shogo to overreact and start yelling, but he was pleasantly surprised when the other simply sighed. He grunted and stretched the arms above his head, then glanced back at Taiga. “Let him eat tonight, and drink too. _Make sure_ he eats and drinks for real. We need him strong and healthy for tomorrow,” Shogo muttered, licked his thumb and rested again on the throne, like a cat under the sun. 

Taiga cleared his throat, not understanding. “Why tonight? I’m sure he could go another day like this, after which I could try pressing more and—“

“No, Taiga, enough of that,” Shogo interrupted him, pointing at Hanamiya with his thumb. Exactly like Taiga feared. “He’ll take care of him tomorrow morning. You will assist and keep an eye on him. Just make sure everything goes smoothly. I’m pretty sure a couple of hours with our friend here will loosen his tongue. He’ll sing like a bird.”

Taiga swallowed. Shogo had told him that if Daiki didn’t talk after three days without food or water he would have to resort to...stronger mean. But Hanamiya? He was an old friend of Shogo, and Taiga had met him a few times already, none of which had been remotely pleasant. He’d always had some kind of sick sadistic streak in him, Taiga remembered it from the beatings he inflected in the streets to other kids when they were younger. With the years passing, it became worse. And Shogo, despite being stupid most times than not, had anticipated this. He’d kept in touch with Hanamiya, and most importantly, he’d kept him a friend. 

It wasn’t the first time Taiga watched this happen. Shogo would call for his _services_ , and Hanamiya would be happy to comply, like a stray dog licking the hand that fed him. Even more now that Shogo was sitting on a golden throne. Taiga should have expected this, he should have expected that the information held by Daiki was _this_ precious, but recurring to Hanamiya wasn’t something he’d considered before. 

“Now go back. Wouldn’t want him to try to escape,” Shogo ordered with irony, starting to chat in whispers and mutters with the other man at his side. Taiga left the throne room with long steps and a heavy heart. 

The next morning, he woke up before dawn. He hadn’t managed to rest peacefully because of the nervousness Hanamiya’s presence in the castle had implanted in his mind, and when the maid arrived to wake Daiki up, Taiga knew shit was about to go down. After her, three figures entered the cell. One, a woman carrying a chair. Two, a young boy holding a crumpled jute sack in his arms. Three, Hanamiya.

He couldn’t repress the shiver that ran down his spine when the jerk walked past him without even glancing at him. He stood up from the chair anyway and leaned against the wall opposite to Daiki’s pallet. He wanted to watch. 

The woman placed the chair at the center of the room while the maid tried to wake Daiki up, but after the third grunt of complaint coming from him, Hanamiya pushed the girl away and knelt beside the prisoner himself. “Good morning, pretty boy. I suggest you get up really soon, because we’re going to spend the morning together and I don’t like to wait.” 

“Go fuck yourself,” Daiki replied with a glare, and Taiga almost feared for him. Hanamiya fisted his blue hair and tugged up, forcing Daiki to raise his head. At the brisk sign of his other hand, the young boy that was with him helped Hanamiya drag Daiki to the chair.

“Get your hands off me! Get the fuck off!” Daiki tried to shove the boy away, and he would have succeeded if it wasn’t for Hanamiya’s fast reflexes. He kicked the back of Aomine’s knee in a despicably dirty move, causing him to drop on the ground with a grunt. The chain around Daiki’s ankle was shortened and tightened at the feet of the chair, while the handcuffs around his wrists were removed and replaced by rope. Both of Daiki’s hands were tied to the armrests now, and Taiga swallowed in anticipation. Daiki seemed to realize the kind of situation he was in right then.

Hanamiya clicked his tongue and turned around to look at the audience clustered behind him. “You can leave us alone, now,” he hissed with a sly smirk, watching with satisfaction as the servants abandoned the cell one by one. Taiga didn't move from where he was. “You can go too,” Hanamiya suggested, even if his tone didn't really imply a choice. 

“Shogo said I must not lose sight of him under any circumstance,” was the firm reply Taiga gave. 

Hanamiya’s smirk faltered. He stepped in front of the chair Daiki was sitting on, looking confused and mostly pissed. If he only knew. Hanamiya grabbed his jawline, giving him a firm shake. “Did you hear, Blue Wing? Taiga wants to watch,” he muttered with a calm that was almost creepy, then moved his dark gaze back to Taiga. “Serve yourself, but don’t you dare interfere.” Taiga gave a small nod only to make him stop talking to him and just get on with it. The sooner he started, the sooner it would be over. 

Hanamiya studied Daiki’s face for several seconds, then he lowered his face to look into those angry blue irises. “You have something the King fervently wants. He called _me_ for how desperate he was! Do you realize how badly he wants to find that little bitch?” Hamaiya grinned, squeezing Daiki’s cheeks together. “So! You either blow the whistle right now and save me a lot of time but also of fun, or we have a whole morning to spend together.” 

Daiki was silent at first. His eyes didn't once look away from Hanamiya’s, and when the other loosened his grip on his face to let him speak, Daiki spit in his face. “Go fuck yourself.”

Taiga’s eyes widened in surprise, because damn, not everyone would have the guts to do that to Hanamiya. Maybe Daiki didn't know who he was, or he knew and simply didn't care. Either way, that ticked Hanamiya’s switch off. The grimace of disdain and rage drawn on his face was ugly and promised nothing good. He wiped the spit off his face and promptly delivered a punch to Daiki’s right cheek. _Ouch_. 

“Listen, little shit. I don’t care how many fingers I have to cut off your hands by the end of the morning, or how many teeth I leave in that useless mouth you got, but I’m not stopping until you tell me everything I want to know.” Without giving Daiki the chance to reply -which was better in Taiga’s opinion- Hanamiya grabbed a fistful of blue hair and steadied Daiki’s face as he delivered a second, a third, a fourth punch, repeatedly against the same spot. It was going to bruise badly, that was sure. 

Daiki’s eyes squinted shut for a moment and his brows furrowed as he swallowed. Then he took a slow breath, and his features relaxed slightly once again. Taiga felt on edge, because his mouth might be shut, but his eyes screamed challenge. He couldn’t look less scared. 

Hanamiya didn't like that one bit. He reached out for the sack of jute forgotten on the ground and extracted a knife. Long like Taiga’s middle fingers, sharp like shattered glass, it reflected the soft rays of the candles directly on Daiki’s face. “I’m going to cut you one time for every question you don’t answer.”

Taiga tensed against the wall. He was trying to stay still because the last thing he wanted was Hanamiya thinking he intimidated him. Hell, if Daiki could hold it together in front of a threat like that, Taiga could bite his tongue some more and stop complaining to himself. Nonetheless, the prospect of attending a session of the cruelest torturer of the kingdom wasn’t appealing. 

Hanamiya placed the knife on the knight’s forearm, just below the elbow. “One. Where is Princess Satsuki hiding?” Daiki’s arm was shaking slightly so he squeezed his fist not to show it, and it may have fooled Hanamiya because he was too close to him to notice, but Taiga could see it all. Despite his dick face, most times Daiki was easy to read. 

In front of his silence, the blade cut down his arm horizontally. The cut wasn’t deep but it was long, and it didn't take much for the first drops of blood to blossom along it. 

“Two. Who is helping her? Some witnesses said she ran away with two men that weren’t identified. Who are they?” 

Daiki’s expression lit up for a moment. It was just a second, but there had been relief in his eyes. It spurred him to keep his lips sealed, and the knife slid easily on his skin once again, this time in a deeper and shorter cut that had him hiss. 

Hanamiya licked his lips with satisfaction at the first real reaction he’d managed to get out of Daiki, and he shifted the blade lower. “Three. Is she hiding inside the walls of the city or has she run out, in the woods, perhaps?” 

Daiki’s chin lifted up in mocking arrogance, and Taiga didn't think he’d ever met someone more stupid than him. Hanamiya went down with the knife, this time digging in the flesh with the flat of the blade. A bright rivulet of blood strained from Daiki’s elbow, followed by a choked moan of pain. “I’m tired of your bullshit,” Hanamiya whispered. “You just lost the privilege of the knife. We’ll have to stop at three.” He pulled away, pushing a lock of black hair behind his ear. He shot Taiga a quick glance, as if to check if he was still there. “Keep an eye on him.” He made it sound like an order, as if Taiga was a subordinate of his, and without waiting or expecting a reply, he left the cell.

Daiki’s posture relaxed. The blood had stopped coming out of the three cuts, but it stained his shirt and pants, making him look more of a mess than he already was. The cheek Hanamiya had hit many times was swollen, and it probably hurt like a bitch, but Daiki still didn't look frightened.

“You’re either really brave or really stupid,” Taiga commented calmly, smirking when the other shot him a cold glare. He sighed. “Daiki, it can only get worse for you. If I were you, I’d talk now, now that you still have a tongue to talk with.”

“That’s because you scumbags don’t know what loyalty is,” Daiki snarled, trying to pull his arms away from the ropes, which probably only caused the rough material to cause a burn on his wrists. “And I bet that all of you that work and drool for that impostor wouldn’t think about it twice to change sides, if given the chance. I bet on it, that you’re all cowards. No moral, no honor, I loathe everything you represent.”

Taiga had never heard him speak so many words in a row, and for once, he was almost touched by the fervor which Daiki had talked with. But the offense he’d been thrown was important and couldn’t be ignored. Daiki was in no position to talk to him like that.

“Watch your tongue, knight. _I_ am _not_ like that,” Taiga stood straight, walking closer to the chair. “I know where my heart and loyalty lies, and it has nothing to do with following fortune’s favor.” He wouldn’t be serving someone like Shogo if that was the case, but Daiki’s words made him wonder if Taiga, in his position, tied and at the mercy of someone like Hanamiya, would talk or would keep protecting Shogo. It was unsetting to find out that he wasn’t sure about the answer. 

Daiki scoffed, clearly not believing him, but before he could speak again Hanamiya came back, carrying two capacious buckets of water. Ah. Taiga walked back to the wall, crossing the arms at the chest and watching with worry how Daiki realized what was going to happen. 

“You really pissed me off, Blue Asshole,” Hanamiya muttered, opening the bag and taking out a small cloth. He folded it in half and laughed when Daiki started to shake his head violently. His head moved from side to side, spitting insults and complaints, so Hanamiya slapped him to make him stand still for a moment, just enough to fist the hair at the back of his head and yank it. Then, with the maliciousness and the smooth speed of a spider wrapping its prey in the web, Hanamiya dipped the cloth in one of the buckets. Once it was soaked with water, he let it fall on Daiki’s face, still keeping it firmly by the grip on his hair. Daiki grunted and tried to shake the other away, but it was useless. Hanamiya was slim but strong, and the aid of the chains and the rope made it impossible for the knight to free himself. 

“You’re not so arrogant, anymore, are you, pretty boy?” Hanamiya chuckled, grabbing the bucket from the floor. Taiga squeezed his own fists, digging the nails in the palms as the first cascade of water fell on the cloth. Daiki gasped and gagged, his body shaking vigorously with the need of air.

Taiga hated waterboarding. It was barbaric and unnecessarily cruel, but he had to admit that it often was the ace in the sleeve that made war prisoners and witnesses _talk_. This had to work. 

Hanamiya removed the wet cloth all of a sudden and drank in with sick fascination the gasp Daiki let out. “Where is the Princess, Daiki?” He cooed almost gently, patting Daiki’s head where his fingers had tugged at the blue hair.

Daiki’s eyes were wide and shocked, but still vigilant. He swallowed, looking down at his body, wet with water and blood, dirty with dust and misery. And yet, in that misery, he seemed to find the strength to throw himself forward and hit his head against Hanamiya’s cheekbone. Taiga gasped, reaching out for them instinctively, but Hanamiya pushed him away. “Stay where you are, dog! He’s mine,” he grunted, and the fury pulsed in his eyes. He placed the clothing again on Daiki’s face, pulling his head back more violently than it was necessarily, and when he poured the water from the bucket this time, he wasn’t clement. The water fell on the cloth without stopping, making it almost impossible for Daiki to breathe and causing him to gag and choke loudly, as if he was drowning. His entire body was convulsing with the need of air, but Hanamiya didn’t pull away until the last drop of water from the first bucket had fallen. 

Then, very slowly, he removed the cloth. Daiki spit out a mouthful of water all over himself, spitting and gasping with the sweet relief of oxygen, and when he opened his eyes, he was crying. Taiga felt a sting inside of him. He had never seen that prideful knight look anything but self assured and confident, so having to look at his eyes rimmed red and swollen because of the water and the tears made him feel…just a little bad for him. 

“How was it? Did you like it?” Hanamiya asked the prisoner with a smirk, biting his lower lip as if the whole scene was making him hot all over. Daiki wasn’t in the position to talk yet, though. Physically, this time. His throat was still clenching emptily around fresh air and when he opened his mouth to speak, Hanamiya squeezed his cheeks together. “You know, I don’t feel like listening to you anymore.” 

And so, he covered Daiki’s face again with the cloth. This time, Taiga looked away.

It was after the third or fourth time that Hanamiya proceeded with the waterboarding when the remaining water of the other bucket was used up, and Hanamiya hadn’t yet gotten any information out of him. His gaze was feral, and he probably took the matter personally, because Daiki was still unmoving about his motivations. Taiga started to feel his chest tight and it was getting harder to breathe in that tiny cell full of the smell of blood and dirty, so he cleared his throat to recall the others’ attention. 

“I’m going to check on the situation of the rest of the castle, excuse me.” 

When he met Hanamiya’s eyes, he found a blank expression, but when his eyes met Daiki’s blue ones, Taiga thought he’d seen a glimpse of alarm. He ignored it and exited the cell. He had to. Having to listen to the prisoners gagging and choking for what, an hour maybe?, had been enough to bear already. He needed to get some fresh air, so he headed for the gardens, hoping no guard would notice his unjustified presence out of the castle.

The gardens were going down the drain, it was clear, even after less than a week. Shogo’s priority was to convince the population of the legitimacy of his rise, not the care of the royal spaces or the wellness of the people. He’d always been all about appearances, Shogo. 

Taiga reached the classical-style temple in the heart of the garden and sat down on a piece of broken column, taking in a deep breath. He didn't know anymore if this, whatever it was, was the wisest way to proceed. Shogo had been right about inheritance and legitimacy of ascending the throne, his father _was_ the King, after all, but Taiga believed he’d chosen the wrong time and the wrong way to declare it publicly. Interrupting the coronation of Princess Satsuki had been a reckless and rash move. Significant and full of meaning and symbolism, maybe, but it sure hadn’t served to gain the liking of the people.

Taiga knew that coerced silence and loud threats were Shogo’s way of doing. It had always been, this time it was just on a larger scale. Taiga’s best guess was that the riots would start in a week or two for the lack of a firm hand to guide the kingdom, a kingdom that not only needed it, but required it. It could have been easier, if only had Shogo listened to him, when Taiga suggested to wait not more than a month after the coronation. It would have been perfect, because both the royal palace’s occupants and the common folk would have lowered their guard, and the emotional shock of a revolution would have given them the upper hand. Maybe they could have managed to kill the Princess for real. But all these ifs were empty of meaning now, because Shogo had fucked up magnificently everything Taiga had planned, and their only chance to confirm and consolidate the power was to kill a girl on the run that could be hiding anywhere. 

He dawdled for a little longer, loathing the idea of crawling into that hole of a prison again. And when he finally did, he regretted leaving at all. 

Daiki’s head hung low against this chest, blood stained, and his other arm now displayed a new series of cuts, deeper and less precise, as if Hanamiya had lost control of the blade that had inflicted them. 

Hanamiya didn't hear him enter, and his hand was raised with a tight fist in the motion of hitting Daiki’s unconscious face again. Taiga grabbed his wrist before he could lower it in what could be a fatal hit. “Are you out of your mind?!” Taiga yelled, shoving the torturer back and stepping between him and Daiki’s body. “What if you killed him?! He’s our only chance to find the Princess, you stupid dick! What do you think Shogo would do to you _and_ me if you killed him?! Fuck!” 

Hanamiya wiped the sweat off his face and shrugged, panting lightly. “He’s still breathing. Lucky us.” He pushed some hair over the forehead and collected the several objects scattered all over the floor through the course of the morning. “Whatever. Since he fainted it wasn’t even fun anymore. I’ll leave him to you.” 

Taiga didn't bother accompanying him to the door, but he waited until the lock clacked before walking to Daiki. He began from the ropes tying his wrists to the armrests of the chair, and found out with horror that Daiki’s wrists had bled too, probably in the attempt of freeing himself. It wasn’t enough that he’d been in the clutches of the most disgusting person in the kingdom, it had also been more painful than it should have. Taiga cut the rope with his sword, then passed to the chain at the feet. He couldn’t exactly take it off, but he lengthened it to allow him more room to move. 

Daiki’s clothes were soaked wet with blood and water, his hair was still damp from the waterboarding and his breathing agitated, but what made Taiga flinch was his face, when he raised it up. There was a cut going from his right eyebrow to the cheekbone. It wasn’t deep, but it was crusty with dried blood. That hadn’t been part of the torture Hanamiya had been asked to perform. That was personal, it screamed revenge for Daiki’s beautiful face and arrogance. 

Taiga couldn’t help but sympathize with him. If Hanamiya had kept on hurting him during the period of time Taiga had spent in the garden, it meant that Daiki still hadn’t given him what he wanted. He was still protecting the Princess, even if his body couldn’t keep up with him anymore. Taiga’s fingers were strangely gentle when he traced the shape of Daiki’s swollen jawline and guided his head up to study his face. Beside the cut, the lower lip was bleeding slightly, but Taiga guessed that it had been Daiki’s own doing, probably while he tried to hold on through the pain. His skin didn't show bruises yet, but he was sure they would blossom like flowers in spring in the next few days. 

“Come on, let’s get you to bed so I can clean you up a bit,” Taiga muttered, knowing well that Daiki couldn’t hear him anyway. He lifted him up with no little effort and rested him on the pallet. “Alright, I’ll be right back.” 

He couldn’t go ask Shogo for some new clothes to hand a prisoner, so Taiga headed to his own rooms and grabbed a couple of clean changes of shirts and pants for Daiki. If a question should arise, he could always excuse the decision telling that _he_ was the one having to guard a man that stank like a wet dog. On his way back, he stopped in the washhouse, where a nice kid that worked for Shogo allowed him to borrow a bucket of water and a sponge. 

Call him a man of heart, like his mother would say, but Taiga couldn’t let a man sleep in his own blood like that after he’d been tortured for hours. Not even a prisoner, not even Daiki. When he came back, the other was still unconscious in the exact position Taiga had left him in. If it wasn’t for his chest raising regularly, he looked dead. Taiga sat on the pallet beside Daiki and brushed a blue lock away from his face. “Dammit, look what you made him do,” he whispered, wetting the sponge in the small bucket at his feet and using it to clean as gently as he could the cut on Daiki’s face. The feeling of something wet on him made the knight jerk awake with a gasp, and he instinctively pulled away from Taiga’s hand. “Hey, hey, cam down, it’s just me.” As if that was for him of any comfort.

Daiki swallowed, a frown forming on his already dark expression. “What are you doing?” He asked, trying to sit up on the bed, but a pang of pain in his stomach made him hiss, and Taiga realized Hanamiya had gone further than just arms and face. What a bastard. 

“I’m cleaning your wounds. If they get infected your condition could worsen and you’d become useless,” Taiga stated calmly. It was true. Partially. “So shut your mouth and let me finish.”

For once, Daiki didn't reply. He laid down again, eyeing Taiga and the sponge and the bucket cautiously, as if he expected him to beat him at any moment. Taiga didn’t mind him staring, and he continued cleaning the cut diligently. Then it was the turn of the three wounds on the first arm that suffered Hanamiya’s knife. Daiki tried to stay still when the rough material of the sponge scraped them, and Taiga felt for him. Before passing to the second arm, he gave him a rest. 

“Can I ask you a question?” He wondered out loud, squeezing the sponge in the bucket and cleaning it from the blood. 

Daiki forced himself to sit up and rested his head and back against the wall. “I have the feeling you will anyway.”

Taiga smiled and shrugged, then reached out with his hand open. Daiki raised the other arm, leaning the wrist in Taiga’s hand. He started cleaning the second series of lacerations, the vengeful and mean ones, those that would scar for sure. “What are you and the Princess to each other? It’s clear that you’re more than a mere knight for her. No hired knight would undergo this kind of…treatment, for the sake of someone else. She must mean something to you,” Taiga commented quietly. 

“Why the fuck would I tell you?” Daiki’s sharp reply came and he jerked his arm away fast. “So you can run to your owner and tell him? No, thanks. You’re not better than the other guy. You know, maybe you’re even worse, ‘cause you feign kindness and bite poison.” 

Taiga’s brows furrowed. “You’re wrong.” He grabbed Daiki’s arm again, continuing the process he’d started on the wounds. Daiki tried to pull away but he was too weak to resist, and in the end gave up with huff.. “I’m nothing like him,” Taiga said. For some reason, the idea that to Daiki he and Hanamiya could be even remotely alike was nauseous. “I have to do this, he doesn’t. He simply wants to.” 

Daiki turned to look at him, and Taiga couldn’t ignore how different his face looked with that scar crossing it. Luckily, it seemed like it had done the eye no damage. “Why would you _have_ to do it?” 

Taiga threw the sponge in the bucket once he was done, and ignored the question. “I brought you some of my clothes, since yours got dirty.” He pointed at the small stack of clothing beside the chair. 

Daiki shook his head. “I don’t want them. I don’t want anything from you.” God, why did he have to be so stubborn?

“You stink and I don’t want to be around you when you when you look like that,” Taiga complained, standing up and walking back to the chair at the door. Daiki seemed almost offended at the insult and honestly it was so stupid, after all he’d gone through, that he’d get upset by something like that, that Taiga couldn’t help a small smile. “For real, Daiki. Just use them. They’re mine, it wasn’t an order from Shogo or anything. Just…use them. Free of charge.”

Daiki glanced at the clothes, then at the door. “Is he coming again?”

“Not today. I’m not sure what his orders are after today, but if he does come back, it will be tomorrow.” 

Daiki grabbed a green shirt and a brown pair of pants and unashamedly changed clothes in front of Taiga, then laid down again, watching him. They remained in silence for a while, at least until Daiki tried to roll to the side and groaned in pain. He could have saved himself so much trouble if he had given just a crumb of information to Shogo or Hanamiya.

“Why are you protecting her like this?” Taiga asked again after a while, pulling the knees to his chest and resting his chin on them. Daiki gave up trying to move and just stared at the ceiling. When he answered, Taiga had to focus to catch his words, so soft and volatile.

“Because she saved my life. I…owe my life to her.”

It wasn’t exactly what Taiga had expected, and yet it was. Daiki was a man of honor, that much was clear already, and Taiga had never met someone as loyal as him. But being loyal and owing someone your life was different. Taiga was loyal to Shogo because he was obliged to, not because he owed him his life. He didn't owe him shit. Shogo had made his life hell from the first moment they’d met, and Taiga didn't nearly feel the same amount of devotion for him that Daiki displayed for the Princess. If he had been at his place, he would have confessed after half an hour, because that’s what Shogo deserved. 

Taiga watched Daiki slowly fall asleep, exhausted and drained of every energy. Part of him wondered if the Princess was planning on coming back for revenge, or to fight Shogo. Part of him hoped she would, to reward Daiki’s effort. He somehow deserved that much. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so beans, i am having so much fucking fun with this u have no idea lol (or maybe u do since this chapter only is 9.4k words oof)  
> i have even worse things planned for daiki so uh- but! it will get better, as always. that happy ending tag is there for a reason
> 
> loyal daiki is adorable but so is taiga trying to understand him imo, love these boys
> 
> if u enjoyed the chapter, please let me know!! i would love to hear your opinions on the torture/plan/daiki's zipped mouth/hanamiya's dick face or whatever you want really! 
> 
> i'm on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hybristophilica) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/hybristophilica) <3


	3. Display of misery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The only piece missing from his chessboard was Satsuki. The game had already started, but even Shogo realized it was risky, too risky, to plan an easy win without having clear sight of the enemy Queen.

Shogo walked to the window of the throne room, pushing it open and immersing himself in the sight of the city. There was smoke coming from the market, and the black column it rose in the clear sky made him smile. Two kids stole bread from the stand of an oblivious old woman while another girl kept her distracted at the front of the counter. A long line of grubby looking people extended itself along the narrow alleys of the city as they waited for their turn to fill basins and buckets at the central fountain. 

It was the display of the misery Shogo’s action had deemed the kingdom to, and the pain tasted so sweet on his tongue. These people didn't have fault for what his birth father had done to him, but it was thanks to their sufferance that Shogo planned to take his long awaited revenge, and then to redeem himself in their eyes. Make them understand what hunger and poverty tastes like, tear their core apart through agony and discomfort, through fear and threats, and then save them.

And that’s exactly what Shogo had started doing. His soldiers were scattered all around the kingdom, undercover or not, and the terror they spread was starting to have its desired effect. Shot could read it on the desperation of the old lady when she realized she’d been scammed, on the tears of the thirsty kid in line. Cutting off the food supplies had been a stroke of genius.

Shogo walked back to the throne, circling around it with slow steps, trying to imagine how his father had looked upon it when he was still alive. 

“You’ve brought this to yourself,” he whispered. “You deserved to die. And so does your whole family,” Shogo hissed, taking place on the red pillow covering the golden seat. He licked his thumb, eyes unfocused in direction of the floor tiles. It was only a matter of weeks before the second part of the plan would take action. And when Shogo would appear to the common folks again, offering fresh water and plenty of food, and promising his unconditional protection for the future, they would all welcome him with open arms and grateful smiles. He would be King, a much better king that the old bastard ever was. 

The only piece missing from his chessboard was Satsuki. The game had already started, but even Shogo realized it was risky, too risky, to plan an easy win without having clear sight of the enemy Queen.

—

Taiga had come to learn three things about Daiki in the past week. One: he really wasn’t a morning person. He would stay up at night, and keep Taiga up with him with his dumb talking, and if Taiga didn't wake him in the morning, he would be able to sleep till noon. Two, Daiki wasn’t exactly the cold asshole he tried to picture himself as most times. Sure, he _was_ a dick, and his sarcasm pissed Taiga off more times than not, but he was an overall okay kind of guy, if he wanted. Three, Taiga was starting to like talking to him, especially at night. 

After Hanamiya’s visit last week, Shogo had decreed to let the prisoner be for at least some days. He needed to recover, both physically and mentally, before he’d be ready for another “session”. Taiga hoped they wouldn’t have to resort to Hanamiya again, but his room was still occupied, which meant that Shogo hadn’t dismissed him yet. Bad. Taiga had been ordered to keep an eye on Daiki, but to be less authoritative with him, with the hope to make him lower his guard and that he’d let some important information accidentally slip. Which didn't happen. Daiki talked to him and a lot, but of all and nothing, and never of the Princess and the royal family. 

When that morning the steps of the guards passing through the hallway on the other side of the door, Taiga awoke promptly. The muscles of his neck hurt despite the tiny pillow he’d brought here days ago in the attempt of sleeping more comfortably, and he stretched his arms up in the air, standing up to wake Daiki.

“Yo, little shit, it’s time to get up.” No reply but a grunt. With a roll of his eyes, Taiga walked to the edge of the bunk, kinking its side with the boot. “C’mon Daiki, wake up.”

“Mmh, what for?” Daiki mumbled. “We got nothing to do anyway. Or is dick face coming again?” That thought seemed to shake him awake despite himself, and the blue of his eyes slowly started with something similar to concern.

“Not today,” Taiga reassured, then took a good look at Daiki’s face. He didn't look…healthy. It wasn’t dehydration or starvation this time, they fed him two meals a day. He didn't have a fever, didn't cough, didn't sneeze, but his skin was paler, of a sickly shade. Then it dawned on Taiga for the first time that Daiki hadn’t seen the light of the day for, what, almost two weeks? Could that be the reason?

“But we— have other things to do. So wash yourself quickly, ‘cause I’m coming to get you in a couple of minutes,” Taiga instructed, then checked that the chain at Daiki’s ankle was well secured and the bucket of water full, before he left the room. 

He reached the throne room, nodding at the soldier on watch right outside. Shogo was reading a report by halves, leafing through the pages with listlessness, and he pretended to notice Taiga only when he was standing right in front of him. 

“Is there something you need?” He asks flatly, annoyed by Taiga’s presence itself. 

“Yes. I want to take Daiki outside this morning,” Taiga replied calmly, unimpressed by Shogo’s rudeness. “He looks sick.” Half lie only.

Shogo’s eyebrow shot up and he discarded the report to the side, crossing his arms at the chest. “And how is that my problem?”

“It _will_ be a problem when he won’t be useful anymore. It’s not like we can let him die down there,” Taiga tried to reason objectively, then shrugged. “And it was you that told me to be nicer to him so he can trust me. I’m just following orders.” Taiga stared right into Shogo’s eyes, posture rigid.

Shogo eyed him for a little. What Taiga said didn't convince him, but something else tempted him, and Shogo had never been a man to resist temptation, so, in the end, he gave a short nod of his head. “Then so be it. I want his hands to be tied the whole time. And put a collar on him. Wouldn’t want him to escape, now would we?” 

The thought of walking through the city carrying Daiki around like a dog repulsed him. Knowing Shogo, that same image was exactly what convinced him to say yes instead. It would be useless to try and bargain for other conditions, so Taiga simply stepped back, accepting what he was given. “Alright. We’ll be back before the first hour of the afternoon.”

And that being said, he made his way back to Daiki, stopping in the armory to grab a chain and a collar. 

—

Soichi had seen the red haired knight come and go from the throne room countless times since he started working for Shogo. It wasn’t clear what the relationship between them was, but it was obvious that its roots had to be seeded in the far past. There was always some kind of silent dialogue going on between them even when neither of them was speaking, and Soichi knew from the first moment he’d seen them interact that he could never step on that knight to get into Shogo’s grace. Not like he’s stepped on Sakurai. Even if he treated him like shit, there was some kind of consideration Shogo held that guy in that Sochi knew he would never reach, so why try? His position was good enough for now.

He had been one of the soldiers of the royal guard to desert and to help Shogo and his men get into the castle, and he had been repaid him with a more than honorable position in the army. 

That morning, he was on watch in front of the throne room when Taiga -he’d learned the name thanks to Shogo shouting it all the time- arrived in a hurry, and just a couple of minutes after, he left again. 

“Soichi! Come here!” Shogo called him a moment later. 

Soichi entered. “Yes, Sir?”

Shogo stood by the window, thoughtful, and turned to look at him with the most serious expression Soichi had ever seen on him. “Get changed. Quick. I need you to follow Taiga.”

Soichi frowned, walking closer to him. “Pardon?”

“He’s taking the Blue Wing outside for the morning, said he’s sick. I want you to follow them like a fucking shadow. You can’t let them out of sight for a single moment, you hear me? And when they come back, you bring your ass here and tell me every single thing they did, whom they’ve talked to, where they walked, _everything_. Is that clear?” 

Soichi took a deep breath, trying to understand why Shogo had agreed on that in the first place if he was so evidently nervous about it, but nodded in the end. “Will do, Sir.”

—

Breathing fresh air felt _good_ , Daiki couldn’t deny it. He didn't know how many days he'd spent in that cell, if he was honest. Between the first days of nothingness and the infinite naps that followed after Hanamiya’s visit, Daiki had lost track of the time, but he knew it had been a fucking long while since he’d seen the sunlight. 

Not even the collar wrapped around his neck and tied to a chain currently in Taiga’s hand behind him could bring him down from the high of relief that invaded him the moment they stepped outside. 

The light was too strong and too bright for him to handle at first, so he took the first steps in the garden with a hand shielding him from the sun. Right after, Daiki allowed himself to finally enjoy being outside. The air of the morning was fresh and chilly and it made goosebumps arise on his arms, while the delicate scent of Satsuki’s roses invaded his nostrils. 

A wave of nostalgia caught him like a well aimed gut punch, and Daiki leaned his arm against one of the columns at the center of the garden, with flashes of the coronation running through his head. It had been…two weeks ago? More or less, Daiki guessed. Was she okay? Would she come back, somehow, for him? Part of him assured him that yes, of course she would. They were two halves of the same whole, and couldn’t live apart from each other for long, no matter the circumstances. Another part of him told him she wouldn’t, nor shouldn’t, come back in the city for a long while. Not without a plan. Not without an army. But where could she find an army ready to fight for her, when more than half of the population was now passing on Shogo’s side? 

“Oi, you alright?” Taiga asked, slowly leaning closer to him.

Daiki rubbed his face. He must have looked like shit if Taiga had offered him to get out and take a stroll together, to make him “stretch his legs”.

“Just a little dizzy. I’m fine, so leave me alone,” Daiki lied, then straightened his back up. He didn't meet Taiga’s eyes but he could feel them burning a hole at the side of his face, so he turned around. “Can we just leave the gardens? Get to the city maybe?” He asked, with very little hope for a positive answer. 

Taiga seemed troubled by the request. His eyes looked even brighter in the sunlight, crimson like a flaming meteor, shifting uncomfortably between Daiki’s face and the chain in his hand. “What’s the problem?” Daiki questioned.

“…Nothing. Let’s go,” Taiga cut short, giving the collar a weak tug to make Daiki follow him through the gate of the gardens. While they walked, something moved in one of the bushes behind them, twigs breaking and rustling. Daiki’s head whipped behind and caused Taiga to almost pull his arm.

“Dammit, asshole! What is it?!” Taiga growled, but Daiki shut him up with a finger against his mouth. He pointed at the bush, then mimicked to get closer _quietly_.

Taiga pushed him behind and walked in front, taking careful steps. The bush moved again and both of them flinched, but didn’t stand down. They looked at each other, nodded, and started counting with their fingers. 

One…Two…Three.

They pulled apart the branches of the bush. Taiga gasped, horrified, Daiki widened his eyes. 

“…Nigou? _Nigou_!” He laughed, reaching out for the dog immersed in leaves and hugging it to his chest. “What are you doing out here, buddy?” Daiki mumbled, patting his little friend’s ears friendly and keeping him close to the chest. He knew exactly why it was here. Tetsu had left in a hurry to bring Satsuki away, so of course he didn't have the chance to take this little pest with them. 

When Daiki turned around, scratching under Nigou’s chin, he found Taiga half hiding behind a tree. He hadn’t even noticed he’d dropped the chain of the collar. “Taiga?” He walked closer to him, confused, but Taiga shrieked and jumped back, shaking his head and hands in front of him.

“Take that away from me! Don’t you dare get closer!” 

“Are you…scared of dogs?” Daiki guessed, eyeing him curiously. When the other limited himself to a short, tense nod, Daiki stared at him for a moment, then bursted out laughing. Nigou started licking his face but he couldn’t stop, pointing a mocking finger at Taiga. “I can’t— fucking believe it! You! Scared of _dogs_!” 

That seemed to make Taiga snap out of it, or at least it pissed him off enough, because soon after he collected the chain from the grass and pulled it harshly, almost making Daiki stumble on his feet. “Shut up, jerk! It’s none of your business!” He looked ashamed, with red cheeks and that pissed frown of his. 

Daiki giggled, showing Nigou off in his arms. “Come on, look at him and tell me he frightens you,” he challenged. Taiga pouted with his lower lip stuck out just like a kid, and it only made everything funnier. He looked at the dog, at Daiki again, then shook his head. 

“We don’t have time for this, we need to be back for the first hour in the afternoon, so let’s just go.” He started to walk to the gate once again, dragging Daiki behind.

“W-wait Taiga!” Daiki planted his feet in the ground, almost choking himself when that didn't make Taiga stop at all. “We can’t just leave it on its own!” 

“Yeah and why not? Looks like it lived so good so far without us!” Taiga replied, all but slowing down. He pulled Daiki outside, but he still hadn’t let go of Nigou. 

“But it could get hurt! Or stolen!” Daiki objected, trying to hold more easily the dog with his wrists tied together like that. 

“And even if it will? It’s not even yours, am I wrong?”

Daiki stopped, this time for real, pulling at the chain with his hands. Taiga turned around, glaring at him. “It belongs to a friend of mine. I can’t let it be out on its own like this,” Daiki explained, rubbing Nigou’s chest with a shake of his hand. 

“What do you want me to do, Daiki?” Taiga asked then, leaning one hand on his hip. “I fucking hate dogs, and even if I didn’t, I basically live down there with you, did you forget?”

Daiki bit his lower lip, thinking. He could try one thing. “Can I bring it to someone I know?”

A sarcastic scoff followed his request, as expected. “Suuure. Like hell I’ll let you talk with anyone, Daiki, don’t be a fool.” Oh well, worth a try. 

“Then maybe to someone _you_ know? Someone that can take care of it?”

Taiga groaned, taking two threatening steps in his direction. “Listen. Just leave this dog here and let’s _go_. I swear if you don’t, the only place we’ll go to is your cell.” And that was the end of the matter. Now, for as much as Daiki loved Nigou, he couldn’t let it throw away his only chance to be outside. Reluctantly, he put the dog down. It gave a weak whine, rubbing himself against Daiki’s leg while he swallowed his bitterness, and hoped it would be okay.

When they finally left the gardens and the royal property altogether, they walked down the soft hill the castle was. They reached the heart of the city, a triumph of red bricks and arches, narrow alleys adorned with blooming flowers, the frame of Daiki’s adolescence. What he witnessed wasn’t what he would have expected, though. It didn't take a genius to understand that things weren’t going the right way. He could read it on the faces of the mothers waiting on the threshold for their children to come home, on the wrinkles of old men complaining about the insane prices of the bread, that there was…unhappiness.

“What happened here?” Daiki asked under his breath, pointing at the long queue of the central fountain. He walked forward, curious, but the collar choked him, and he turned sharply to Taiga. This was a very humiliating price to pay for some fresh air. “Let me go talk to them,” he gritted through his teeth. There was no subterfuge, no trick, no secret message to deliver. He only wanted to know his people’s condition. 

Taiga’s tongue clicked and he gave another tug at the collar. It was seriously starting to piss him off. “Don’t you listen to me when I speak? I told you I can’t let you talk to anybody. Is that too hard to understand?” 

Daiki walked to him, pushing against Taiga’s chest. “I have the right to know what the fuck is going on in here!” He shouted, gesturing with his hands towards the square. “So you either tell me, or I’m going to ask them!” 

Taiga was silent for a few seconds, then raised an eyebrow. “I don’t owe you anything, Daiki. I’m not going to reveal anything Shogo doesn’t want me to.”

“Shogo this, Shogo that! I don’t give a shit, Taiga!” Daiki replied with renewed strength, moving his arms frantically and causing the rope to sting. People were starting to look their way because he was shouting, and it would only be a matter of time before he’d be recognized. Daiki knew, Taiga knew. And it was good, Daiki thought, because at least his people would know there was still someone fighting against Shogo and his little army of jerks. 

Taiga looked nervous with all the attention towards them growing. Some kid pointed at them, at Daiki, and not much later there was a small group looking at them with unbelieving, or disenchanted, eyes. Someone whispered _Blue Wing_ , and that was when Taiga decided to drag him away from the square, down the narrow street at their shoulders.

“No, no! I want to talk to them! Let me go!” Daiki tried, opposing himself to the collar, trying to push while Taiga pulled, but it was cutting his breath off and he gasped, loosening his grip. Plan B. He purposely fell with his ass on the ground, holding the chain in his hands, and when Taiga emitted a frustrated groan, he smirked. 

“Why can’t you ever make things easy?!” Taiga yelled, dropping the chain entirely as he walked to Daiki. He tried to crawl away but Taiga was faster and soon grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up on his feet with a rough movement. Daiki tried to elbow him in the face but only managed to hit his shoulder. 

There was a moment right after that, when Taiga’s eyes widened for a split second, as if he hadn’t expected Daiki to try to hit him, to try to escape from him. Like hell he wouldn’t. The moment passed soon enough, and the surprise was replaced by the fast reflexes of a trained warrior. Taiga was surely in better shape than Daiki, and it didn't take him much effort to forcefully drag Daiki along the streets until they reached a minor square with a fountain from which poured out only a miserable thin thread of water. 

“Look at what that pig is doing to my city!” Daiki yelled, outraged, shoving Taiga’s shoulder harshly. When the other’s steps faltered, he stomped on his foot, heavily, and threw a hook with both hands, succeeding in hitting him in the face this time. “Let me talk to them!”

Taiga’s grunt of pain was heartfelt, and his eyes flared with rage. “Ungrateful bastard,” he hissed, grabbing a handful of blue hair to still Daiki’s head as he reciprocated the punch. Red pain shot up his face and Daiki groaned, pulling at the handcuffs so hard they started digging in his wrists, but the sting only fueled him more. Every nerve of his body was sharp and alert, and when the second punch came, he managed to dodge it. 

“What should I be grateful for, Taiga?! That you and your King destroyed the kingdom?! That all of my friends are out there, fighting for their lives, or maybe that I was allowed an hour of fresh air with the condition of a collar and handcuffs?!” Daiki yelled, grabbing Taiga by the shirt and jostling him around just because he didn’t know what to do with all the adrenaline and the frustration in his veins. 

Taiga wrapped an arm around his middle and shoved Daiki against the wall behind him. The impact took his breath off, but not nearly as much as the left jab his cheek registered moments later. His head spun, and Taiga shouted words at him but Daiki didn't register it. Something warm and gross poured down his lip, and he realized it was his own blood. 

The strong hands keeping him firmly pressed against the wall slowly let go when Taiga realized Daiki wasn’t going to fight back. Mostly because he wasn’t in the condition to. When Daiki looked up, he found him stare at him, stare at him with— _guilt_. And that was odd, wasn’t it. Taiga was following the red trail of blood down his lips and neck, and after a few seconds he stepped away from Daiki, not meeting his eyes. He looked almost ashamed of what he’d done, and the strangeness of it all struck Daiki all over again. If Taiga couldn’t even throw a fucking punch without feeling bad, how could he assist to what Hanamiya had done to him? How could he simply watch while everything in the kingdom went in shambles?

With a pissed hiss, Daiki found the strength to flip them over and trap Taiga against the wall, keeping his handcuffed hands right on his chest. He knew that if Taiga wanted he could have easily slid away, but he didn’t. And so Daiki spoke again. He had come to learn a few things about this knight in the last days. Taiga was the type to look away when Hanamiya went too hard on him. He was the type to offer Daiki a wet piece of cloth to clean his wounds with, the type to feel guilty for a punch thrown to a chained man.

“How can someone like _you_ work for someone like _him_?” The question came out hoarse but more emotional than Daiki had wanted, yet he didn't stand back.

He stared into Taiga’s eyes, wiping away the blood from his mouth with the shoulder. Taiga looked at him, only looked at him, for long. His expression was unreadable, as if after that punch his brain had given a reset of some sort. 

“Don’t talk as if you know me. Because you don’t,” Taiga answered, moving Daiki’s arms away and stepping to the side without another word. He grabbed the chain of the collar once again, giving it a pull, very weak, very forced, a facade. Daiki made it easy for him, then, and followed him across the city. If Taiga didn't want to talk, it was fine; they would have time for that anyway, probably soon, Daiki thought.

—

Once he locked Daiki’s cell, Taiga left him alone, because _he_ needed to be alone. The morning hadn’t exactly gone as planned, not at all. He’d wanted to take Daiki out for a nice walk under the sun, but it had all gone to hell. He should have expected it really, that Daiki wouldn’t surrender that easily. Just because he was starting to act like less than a dick in the last days it didn't mean he and Taiga were friends. Daiki was in chains, Taiga held the key. 

And he was doing such a great job reminding Daiki of that. The guy had been crumpled in a dark cell for two weeks, and Taiga had answered his provocations and violence with other violence, even though he knew very well he would have the upper hand, that Daiki was in no condition to fight. And yet, Taiga had hit him more than once without a second thought, making him bleed just like Hanamiya had. And Daiki had accepted it, taken it, taken it _for granted_ , as if that was what he would have expected from Taiga. And that realization had been like a cold shower, downing him back to reality, a reality that saw him punish a disarmed man because he wanted to help his people.

But it was the question that Daiki asked to upset him the most. _How can someone like_ you _work for someone like_ him _?_

What kind of man did Daiki think Taiga was? It’s not like they knew each other. Daiki didn't know what Taiga’s motivations were, how badly he wanted to be anywhere else but there, how much he despised himself for what he was allowing Shogo to do. Daiki didn't know all that, and yet, when he asked it, his eyes were clear blue with awareness. Taiga’s stomach twisted with anguish, and he couldn’t bear to spend another second in company of Daiki, so he left. 

There was some cleaning up to do in his room, so Taiga decided that was the right moment for it. He collected dirty training tunics from the ground, changed the sheets of the bed, opened the windows wide to clear the air, managing to relax in the slightest in that mere hour of freedom he allowed himself. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes, resting the head against the wall. The thought of having to debrief to Shogo was haunting him, the thought of Shogo _in_ _general_ haunted him, but Taiga would rather obey these little whims of orders than bearing the consequences of not doing so.

However, when Taiga reached the throne room, he found it empty. He stopped a maid by the arm as he went out. “Where’s the King?” 

“I think he said he was headed to the dungeon, earlier, if I’m not mistaken,” she replied. Taiga let her go, dumbstruck. The dungeon? Why would Shogo visit there?

A sudden awfully bad feeling crept in his head. Taiga started running, covering with long and hurried steps the stairs that led him in the darkness of the lower floor of the palace. There were voices coming from the hallway to Daiki’s cell, and Taiga followed them. When he pushed the door open, he gaped.

“Finally, you’re here! Hanamiya was just waiting for you. Now that we’re all here, shall we start?” Shogo greeted him with a smirk. Taiga wanted to ask him what exactly they were supposed to start, but when he averted his gaze to the rest of the room, he froze. 

Hanamiya stood in the middle of the room, with the bag of tools at his feet. There was also another man beside him, a man Taiga had never seen, but whose expression of satisfaction and complacency he didn't like one bit. Shogo was leaning against the wall, nonchalant and careless, while Daiki knelt on the floor. He had his hands tied together with rope in front of him around a severed tree trunk firmly stuck on the ground. Shirtless, with his ankle still chained, his back to them. 

“What is going on?” Taiga heard himself ask as he made his way closer, not understanding. 

“Soichi,” Shogo called, and the other man in the room stepped forward, blocking the passage to Taiga with a short shake of his head. Shogo clicked his tongue. “We’re wasting a little too much time because of him, don’t you agree, Taiga? We need things to proceed a little bit more smoothly from now on, and Hanamiya is very… _resolute_ to make him talk today to assure that happens.”

Taiga watched with horror while Hanamiya extracted a whip of leather from the bag and approached Daiki, who turned his head just enough to meet Taiga’s gaze above his shoulder. It took his breath off, because, for the first time ever, Daiki looked not only scared, but terrified. 

_Not today_ , Taiga had told him that morning. He’d lied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you’re enjoying this so far, i’m enjoying writing it a lot  
> kudos and comments fuel me like you can’t even imagine


	4. Not so different, yet not the same

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daiki pressed his cheek against the wood, weeping as his whole body trembled. He closed his eyes and felt so small, so weak and pathetic, but, at the same time, ready to bear more in honor of the cause he believed in, ready to die for it, for her, if Shogo was willing to go that far. He wasn’t going to give up.

She didn't remember the last time she’d ran so fast. It was when she was ten, maybe, running with Daiki in the fields outside the walls of the city on a sunny day. Or maybe the time she went hunting with her father, and they chased rabbits down the hill nearby the waterfall. But while Satsuki ran now, she felt none of the joy that pervaded her when she and Daiki fell and rolled together on the grass, or the enthusiasm that filled her when her father finally got his hands on a male of rabbit. No, the only thing she was able to feel in that moment was desperation. 

It was supposed to be her day, the day of her coronation and ascension to the throne, and it had become a nightmare instead. One moment Daiki was at her side, walking her to the center of the garden to receive the crown, the other a riot was taking place, and the First Knight was involved in a fight. 

There was no time to think right then, she knew, but nothing could prevent her to feel the wave of intense remorse that invaded her when she agreed to run away with Tetsuya and Ryouta. 

“Run, Your Majesty, run and don’t turn around,” they’d said, and run she did, following them in unexplored parts of the woods with the shouts of the guards and the wind chasing them. They’d escaped like their life depended on it, because it did, and didn't stop until they reached the small cave, north-west of the kingdom, an old meeting spot of theirs when they were younger. It wasn’t safe, but it was the only place they trusted enough to stop in and catch their breath.

Satsuki had fallen on her knees, throwing up her breakfast in the mud while they chatted in whispers behind her. Her mind was filled with panicked thoughts of Daiki, of the castle and the defenseless people they’d left behind. Daiki had stayed to fight, to protect the kingdom from Shogo, and she’d let him. “If Daiki won’t…if they should kill him—“ a hiccup interrupted her, and Satsuki took her face in her hands, shaking it frantically. “How could I let him?! Why did we leave him there?! We need to go back, we need to save him, Shogo will hurt him, you don’t know what he’s capable of, and—“

“Your Highness,” Ryouta interrupted, putting what was supposed to be a comforting hand on her shoulder. “We _can’t_. Not right now.”

“He wanted to keep you safe,” Tetsuya added, staring hard into her eyes. “He’s a skilled fighter, and it will take a bit more than a couple of sword strokes to bring him down.”

Satsuki couldn’t believe they were really trying to justify what they’d just done. Outraged, she stepped forward, with the folds of her elegant dress soddening in dew and dirt. “Cowards, that’s what you and I are,” she spat through gritted teeth, wiping angry and ashamed tears away. “We left him there to fight a battle that wasn’t his, and we ran away.”

“Daiki knew what he was doing,” Ryouta stated, walking inside the cave and kneeling down to collect some of the water that ran down the walls from a thin pond on the ground to wipe the dirt away from his hands and face. “And we’re not going to abandon him, Your Majesty. We will get him back, but first things first. We need a place to stay, and a plan to counterattack Shogo with. We can0t just go back like this, just the three of us.”

Satsuki ran a hand through her hair, frustrated. He was right, it would be stupidand reckless to step foot in the kingdom again right now, for Shogo’s men were probably guarding the walls and the entrances day and night. “Then what do we do?”

“I have an idea,” Tetsuya said. “I know someone that could help us, but we’ll have to leave right now if we want to get there before sunset, which I strongly recommend. These woods are dangerous at night.”

Ryouta turned to look at her. “Are you able to walk?” 

Satsuki nodded, but didn't feel good about any of this. Still, the last thing she wanted to do right now was to talk or explain to them and to herself what she was feeling, so she followed them along the path up the hill, trusting their decision to leave for good.

The walk that awaited them was difficult and strenuous, paths alternating between tracks of pebbles and craggy downhill stretches that had them panting, labored, once they’d gotten at the bottom. 

Not even once did Satuski complain. She walked, chin up and resolute, following the knights in silence. She was tired indeed, unused to such physical effort, but not enough to be able to feel that estrangement that came with exhaustion. Her thoughts shifted once again to Daiki, to the castle and her ladies in waiting, to her people. 

What kind of princess, _Queen_ , would abandon her kingdom like that? With the cold mind of the moment, she knew it was an unfair question to ask herself. She’d run away to save her own life, or else Shogo’s men would have killed her, no doubt. 

Shogo, damned dog, knew no honor, and what he’d done that morning proved it. Part of her had naively believed that this day would never come. She’d lived her fairy tail, pretending to ignore the truth, expecting the situation to get solved peacefully, but of course it didn’t. And now her greatest fear had become true, and she was alone, running around in the woods, far away from her home like she had never been. “Are we there yet? Will it take long?” She asked at last, starting to feel the first cramps threaten her calves.

“Shouldn’t be too long, Your Highness,” Tatsuya answered, stopping one moment to check on her and pointing at the mountain standing in front of them, covered in dense vegetation. “We should be there in less than two hours. There’s a house at the feet of the mountain, hidden in the thicket. That’s where we’re going.”

Satsuki nodded, not feeling the relief she’d expected, but she started walking again, by their side this time, glad they slowed the pace down for her.

The sky was starting to darken when they reached the slopes of the mountain range. Satsuki was shivering with cold in her dress, and she could barely keep herself up, spent and dehydrated. By the time they knocked on the wooden door of the cabin Tetsuya guided them to, she was heavily leaning onto Ryouta for support. 

“Who’s there?” The voice of a woman came from inside, severe and harsh. 

“Tetsuya. My friends and I need a place to stay the night,” he said, then smiled apologetically at Satsuki as if guilty for calling her a friend. “Please, Riko. We have nowhere else to go.”

The door creaked open just enough to let Satsuki take a glimpse of the inside. Rather dark, very rustic, with a bright fire burning, which was the most alluring thing Satsuski could ask for right now. 

“Have you heard what happened at the castle?” Tetsuya prompted, since the woman still hadn’t let them inside. 

“I heard, yes,” the other replied, stepping outside to take a look at Tetsuya and his company. The woman was shorted than Satsuki, dressed in black from head to toe with a hoodie covering her hair and forehead, and she smelled like pine and herbs. Her eyes stared at her hard and Satsuki held the gaze, unmoving despite the stress and exhaustion. 

“Come in,” the woman said at last, retreating inside and keeping the door open for them. “Make yourself at home, I’ll get you some clean clothes.”

Ryouta helped Satsuki walk inside and guided her to the couch in front of the fire, sitting with her while Tatsuya removed the heavy gear of his armor and laid it in the corner of the room.

“Who is she?” Ryouta asked in a whisper, eyeing the dark hallway the woman had disappeared into. 

“Her name is Riko. She’s a healer, an herbalist, and one of my most trustworthy friends,” Tetsuya answered, walking to the other side of the couch. 

“She didn't seem very friendly to me,” Satsuki bitterly commented and regretted it immediately, because no matter the manners, this Riko was giving them refuge without asking nothing in return, in a moment when Satsuki couldn’t really count on anything or anyone. 

Tetsuya smiled weakly, about to say something, but Riko came back carrying towels and clean shirts and pants for everyone. “Go get yourself washed and use this, I’ll be preparing you guys some supper, you look beat. We can talk later.”

Satsuki stood up, taking the clothes from her hands, and bowed slightly to her. “Thank you, Riko.” Under the other’s observant gaze, she left the room, headed to the bathroom. She took her dress off and let it fall on the floor, torn and irreparably stained for good, and proceeded to clean herself with water from the capacious bucket Riko left on the floor. The clothes were at least a size too small but they weren’t uncomfortable, very simple in color and design, so different from anything Satsuki had worn in the last years. A lame thought really, in a moment like this.

After Tatsuya and Ryouta had cleaned themselves up as well, they all helped Riko set the table and sat around it to eat. It was a quiet meal, for nobody wanted to tinge that quiet with sorrowful discussion, and when they finished Ryouta suggested that Satsuki should go sit on the couch, because he refused “to let the Queen do the dishes.” Satsuki found the strength to smile weakly at him, thanking him with a gentle bow of her head, and sat on the couch, waiting.

She watched the two knights and the mysterious lady clear the table in the dim lights of the room and leaned the head against the elbow on the back of the couch, sighing. Thoughts easily slipping back to Daiki, Satsuki felt another sting of guilt at the thought of him alone, facing Shogo’s fury and his guards’ mocking. She knew he would rather die than give her away, and that’s exactly what scared her the most, that he’d put himself in danger to protect her. She’d underestimated Shogo and his rage, his need for revenge and to hurt others without caring of the pain he caused, and now it was Daiki paying the price for her naiveness.

The enormity of her worry felt too much to bear for another moment, and Satsuki rested against the couch, letting her eyes fall shut. She could hear rustling around the room, soft whispers and steps, but the exhaustion pulled her away before she could discuss anything with the other. She fell asleep with a heavy heart and a remorseful mind, and dreamt of a boy with blue hair and a big smile. 

——

Daiki pressed his forehead against the wood, rough and hard, trying to keep his breathing controlled. He didn’t dare turning around but he could feel the three pairs of eyes studying him from behind. He ignored the reason why they’d resulted to this, but he was scared. For the first time since he’d been locked up in here, he was real fucking scared. 

Some steps approached him and a hand fisted his hair, tugging sharply. “Ready to talk yet?” Shogo asked, staring down at him with a satisfied grin. 

“Fuck you,” Daiki replied, turning to the side. 

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Shogo laughed, then stepped away, gesturing to the guard. “Soichi, go get Hanamiya his tools. Taiga should be here at any moment.”

“Soichi?” Daiki’s head snapped up and he turned to stare at the guard with wide eyes. He hadn’t recognized him, dressed like that, all obedient and ready to serve, but the man standing there was definitely Soichi Imayoshi, former captain of one of Satsuki’s squadrons. “You fucking traitor!” Daiki shouted, furiously shaking the chains keeping him grounded. “How fucking _dare_ you!” He tugged at the rope, wanting nothing more than to punch the smirk off that dick face standing at the door. 

Hanamiya kicked him in the ribs from the side, cutting Daiki’s breath off. He gasped, coughing, but the pain wasn’t sharp enough to erase the immense wave of anger boiling inside of him. The fucking snake betrayed them, and now he served Shogo’s purpose. Unbelievably disgusting.

“Can we start already?” Hanamiya asked, taking his bag off Soichi’s hands and throwing it on the floor beside Daiki.

_Start what?_ Daiki thought bitterly, trying to pull his wrists apart, but the rope was tied securely, and it scratched. When he attempted at getting up on his knees eventually, Hanamiya promptly kicked him down again with a grunt. “Don’t even try it. Today you’re mine.” 

Daiki realized there was no way out of this. And not only would Hanamiya get his hands on him again, this time they had an audience. An audience that would probably enjoy the show quite a lot.

Hanamiya opened the bag, rummaging through it until he found what he was looking for. A black long leather whip, the mere sight of which sent Daiki years back in time. He felt the bite of fear clenching the mouth of the stomach and his breath hitched at the memories as he shook his head, feeling like the kid he used to be, powerless and defenseless against a bigger man he had no chance to fight off, and Gods, he was terrified. 

“Finally, you’re here! Hanamiya was just waiting for you. Now that we’re all here, shall we start?” Daiki turned to look at the door over his shoulder. Taiga had arrived. 

“What is going on?” He asked, but before he could come closer Soichi blocked him.

“We’re wasting a little too much time because of him, don’t you agree, Taiga? We need things to proceed a little bit more smoothly from now on, and Hanamiya is very…resolute to make him talk today to assure that happens,” Shogo said with a grin, leaning against the wall beside the tree trunk Daiki was tied to. “I’m tired of postponing the inevitable,” he added in a more serious tone. “And I have no interest in keeping him here if he’s not useful. So he’ll either give me what I want, or I’ll break him.” He licked his thumb slowly, giving Hanamiya a nod of the head. 

Hanamiya walked behind him, stepping closer, then he tore Daiki’s shirt off, ripping it apart in one strong drag. Daiki closed his eyes, drawing a shaky breath as someone, probably Taiga, gasped in the room. 

“Would you look at that…” Shogo laughed at his scars, accompanied by Soichi. Daiki didn't give them the satisfaction of seeing the shame on his cheeks, and he kept his head pressed against the trunk, trying to focus on himself. 

He could sense the movement behind him, the hair at the back of his head standing as Daiki braced himself against the trunk and the first strike of whip hit, it hit like white lighting, a blinding pain that took his breath off in a sudden gasp, followed by the loud cry that tore out of his throat. The burn that invested the entirety of his back was unbearable, but it was its familiarity to make Daiki’s eyes sting with tears. 

His fingers twitched and scratched the wood in anticipation, Hanamiya’s hand fell again, and this time Daiki could clearly feel the tip of the whip on his shoulder, its shaft cutting the skin of the curve of his back until the base arrived at his lower back, and pain arose all of a sudden. Daiki shouted, trembling with his head lowered and his eyes wet. 

“Where was the Princess headed when she left the city?” Hanamiya asked, pulling his head back by the blue locks on his forehead. Daiki was breathing heavily, terrified, and his mouth felt too dry to speak. He blinked slowly, meeting Hanamiya’s eyes only for a second, and shook his head. Hanamiya clicked his tongue, letting his head go and grabbing the whip tight once again. “Fine.”

Someone spoke behind him, someone moved, but Daiki didn't turn around to see what was happening. Hanamiya kicked his legs open and pressed a hand in the middle of his back, where the two wounds of the first strikes met, and he pressed down. Daik howled, flinching away from the contact, but there was nowhere to go, no room to escape the burn. Daiki pressed his cheek against the wood, weeping as his whole body trembled. He closed his eyes and felt so small, so weak and pathetic, but, at the same time, ready to bear more in honor of the cause he believed in, ready to die for it, for _her_ , if Shogo was willing to go that far. He wasn’t going to give up. “I’ll fucking kill you,” he growled, sniffing as Hanamiya pulled his hand away and laughed at him. 

“I’d like to see you try.” Without waiting another moment, the whip traveled once again down Daiki’s back, this time twice in a row with no break whatsoever, and Daiki started sobbing, thrashing like a mad dog and shaking in pain and desperation. Hanamiya alternated heavier strikes with excruciating lighter ones, while other moments he preferred teasing the bloody wounds with fingertips instead of the whip. It was a debilitating agony that left him breathless, barely able keeping himself together under the merciless leather of the whip. 

He didn't realize Taiga had reached him and kneeled beside the trunk until both of his hands cupped Daiki’s face. He must have spaced out for a while, because Hanamiya had stopped whipping him and Shogo wasn’t ordering Taiga to leave just yet.

“Daiki,” Taiga called, and when Daiki’s eyes finally rose to meet his, he realized Taiga was crying. “Daiki, tell us where the Princess is,” he asked, shaking Daiki’s face in his hands. He looked desperate to say the least, his eyes rimmed red and swollen, as if he was the one that had been whipped in the last minutes. “Just tell us where she is! _Please_!” Taiga shouted, and Daiki started laughing hysterically, his body jolting slightly.

“I won’t,” he assured, groaning when Taiga tried to shake his shoulders to keep him awake. But Daiki was already slipping away, eyes slowly shutting down, along with the pain piercing the entirety of his back. 

When he opened his eyes again, he wasn’t in the cell anymore, nor underground. He was laying on his stomach on a bed that wasn’t his, facing the window of a room of the castle. That much was sure. It was night outside, and for a few moments his head felt too light to let him grasp a thought that could explain what happened to him, or why he was here. 

Lifting his head and elbows, it all came back to him when the wounds on his back stung so much to cut his breath off and Daiki groaned into the pillow, squeezing his eyes shut. 

“Daiki? Are you awake?” 

Daiki’s head snapped to the side as he felt himself panic inevitably at the prospect of laying here, completely helpless at the mercy of Shogo or his guards. A candle was lit up beside him, and, when the face came into view, Daiki let out a sigh of relief. Taiga. He watched him flame another couple of candles and leave them on the nightstand beside the bed. “How are you feeling?” Taiga asked, sitting beside him. 

“What do you think?” He replied, eyeing him cautiously. He shifted to the side and moaned, slamming a fist on the bed. Everything hurt so-fucking-much. Daiki took a deep, slow breath, turning his face so he could look at Taiga. “How long have I been out?” 

“Almost two days. I’ve cleaned your wounds three times already because they kept on bleeding,” he started, eyeing Daiki’s back. “They’re pretty bad, frankly, but none of them is very deep which is something I hadn’t expected, given Hanamiya’s hand. They shouldn’t take more than a couple weeks to close, around a month to heal, maybe.”

A month to heal, eh? No, they would probably take more than that, Daiki knew. He sighed, gesturing Taiga to get closer. “Help me out of this fuckin’ bed.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. If you move too much you’ll—“

“Taiga just get me out of here, so we can talk and you can tell me what the fuck I’m doing in your room and not the infirmary.”

Taiga hesitated, looking troubled, but in the end he reached out for Daiki and wrapped an arm around his waist and the other around his torso. “Alright…one, two, three,” he huffed, pulling Daiki to the edge of the bed. He groaned, throwing one leg out to stand on his own, but when he straightened his back the wounds pulled the skin apart, and it took his breath off. Taiga’s arms were already open to catch him as he fell forward, cursing and swearing like a sailor, and Daiki needed a moment to swallow the moan of pain bubbling in his throat. 

“Told you,” Taiga muttered, slowly withdrawing his hands once he found some balance again. Daiki’s eyes followed him as Taiga moved across the room to open the window, then sat on its edge with the back leaned against the wall. 

“What happened in the dungeon?” Daiki asked, approaching him. He sat in front of Taiga on the edge of the windowsill, back turned to the opening so that the cold air could ease the burn on the lashes. “Why am I here?”

Taiga looked at him, and only then did Daiki notice the bruise on his cheekbone. The light of the candles was too dim, but now that they were sitting under the moon it was impossible to miss. “Shogo did that,” Taiga said before Daiki could ask. 

“Why?”

“Because Hanamiya was going to whip you while you were out and I tried to stop him.”

Daiki couldn’t say he was surprised. Taiga had already demonstrated cruelty wasn’t a feature of his and that he abhorred unnecessary violence, so it made sense that he’d try to stop Hanamiya in the dungeon. “But why did you bring me here? And why am I not in chains?” Daiki realized all of a sudden, lifting his wrists in the air. There were red marks all around them, with some superficial cuts here and there, nothing serious.

Taiga smirked a little. “It’s not like you’re in condition to run away, so I preferred avoiding cuffs and chains, at least for now.” Fair point. Daiki could barely keep himself on his feet. “And you’re here because Shogo said—“ Taiga interrupted himself, rubbing the back of his neck, then sighed heavily, mindlessly touching the bruise on his face. “You’re gonna have to work for Shogo, or Hanamiya, I didn't pay much attention while he shouted.”

“What the fuck? Like hell I’m going to work for them,” Daiki hissed, fist clenching at his side. “What, were they tired of having you trapped in the dungeon with me?”

“No, you stupid bastard, they wanted to kill you!” Taiga snapped, looking and sounding angry. He huffed, covering his face. “Shogo wanted to kill you. You’re not going to tell us anything, and I already knew that, but he still held hope. Well, at least until you passed out under the whip. That was when they all realized you’re not going to tell us where she is, ever. And they wanted you dead.”

Daiki listened in silence, eyes wide as he realized Taiga had saved his life, somehow. “Is that why he punched you?” He asked, reaching out with his hand before he could stop. Taiga didn't pull away from the light touch of his fingers on the bruised cheekbone, but he raised his head to look at him, still pissed, although calmer. 

“Yeah. Hanamiya and the other guy stayed out of it because Shogo was furious after you fainted, and he really was going to kill you himself hadn’t I stopped him. But now he— he expects you to be my responsibility, since I was the one stopping him.”

“So if I won’t cooperate…he’ll take it out on you?” Daiki frowned, letting his hand fall, trying to understand the strange dynamic between this knight and his master. 

Taiga nodded. “He will. So I’ll have to ask you to cooperate, or at least _pretend_ you are. I don’t want to spend another day in the dungeon, nor I want to be punished because of you.”

Daiki leaned his hands against the windowsill, looking down the garden where two guards walked back and forth on the gravel path. “I couldn’t do much anyway right now,” He said, smiling bitterly. He took a deep breath, pondering on the offer. Taiga had saved his life, putting his own at risk in front of Shogo just to defend him, and Shogo had accepted to spare him in exchange for his submission and servitude. A scoff escaped him despite himself, because he’d already made up his mind, hadn’t he?

“I’ll be good,” Daiki nodded, throwing a look at Taiga from the corner of his eye. “Only until my wounds won’t be healed fully,” he added at the end, smirking.

Taiga was relieved to hear it, and he visibly relaxed against the wall behind him. He smiled at Daiki, running a hand through his hair with a sigh. “Thank you.” He looked down, playing with the hem of his sleeve and looking so glad that Daiki had agreed that it left Daiki confused. 

“Say, would Shogo really hurt you that badly?” He asked, rubbing his chin. “I mean, it doesn’t really strike me as a smart move to treat your knights like that. Does he do that to everyone?”

Taiga shrugged. “I guess. He has more fun when it’s me, though.”

“Why’s that?” Daiki prompted. Taiga moved away from the window, shutting it close, and walked back to the bed. Daiki reached him, sitting at his side. 

“I’ve known him since we were kids. I’ve known him since forever.” Aw, there was a hint of melancholy in Taiga’s words and expression, and it was probably the first real emotion beside anger and guilt that Daiki had witnessed on his face. “My parents…were runaway slaves. After giving birth to me, my mother died and my father was left with nothing but a shack in the woods and an infant to raise with no income. That was when Shogo’s father— well, step-father, found us.” Taiga’s voice was low and quiet, but he didn't sound emotional. If he was, Daiki didn't catch it. “My father served this man all his life, and I grew up with Shogo, working for him without really realizing it until later.” He shook his head, regretful, and smirked a self deprecating grin. “Look at me, I’m the knight of the King, I’ve earned the respect of every rank below mine with effort and sweat through the years, and yet I’m still a slave.” 

Daiki had listened in silence so far, intrigued, because now a lot of things made sense. The lightly thrown insults, the rough behavior Shogo constantly showed around Taiga, the disrespect he treated him with. He’d grown up cocky and arrogant because he knew Taiga would have his back no matter what, because everything Taiga was this day, he owed it to him. Even if he didn’t. 

“You’re not a slave. You’re the first knight of the King,” Daiki said calmly, meeting Taiga’s red gaze through the flickering flame of the candle. “It doesn’t matter what you used to be, or where you came from. You’re a knight now. Nothing more, nothing less than that.”

Hearing the same words that Satsuki used to say to him made Daiki smile weakly. Look at him, offering the same comfort he’d refused, or tried to, for so many years. And just like Daiki the first time he’d heard those words, Taiga didn't reply, but he stared at Daiki in awe, confused and emotional. 

“Why— how can you say that?” Taiga asked, pulling up one knee on the bed to lean his chin on it. 

Daiki turned to face him as well, but the wounds pulled at his skin and he hissed, stilling where he was. Taiga had lunged forward in the meanwhile, wanting to help, but Daiki stopped him with a pointed glare. “I…Let’s say I, too, _became_ a knight.”

“Oh? You mean— recently? Then what did you use to be?”

Daiki looked away, at the wall, following the cracks of the paint up to the ceiling. This was one big mistake. Talking like this to Taiga was a big mistake. Just because he’d opened his heart to him it didn't mean Daiki could trust him. Hell, for all he knew Taiga could have made the story up just now to gain his trust and bring him to lower his guard. It was working, and Daiki was falling for it, because Taiga sounded so honest and so sincere when he spoke, and it was always so easy to read the emotions on his face. Daiki remained silent, playing mindlessly with the laces of the pants in his lap. 

“Oi? What were you before becoming a knight?” Taiga prodded, tapping Daiki’s bare arm with his fingertips. Daiki’s eyes followed the motion but he didn't turn around, swallowing. The lump in his throat made it hard to talk, let alone looking right into Taiga’s expecting face while doing so. He couldn’t believe he was trusting him with this.

“Satsuki found me when I was seven,” he started quietly, trying to clear the fog of memories in his head. “I used to live in one of the poorest outskirts of the kingdom with a man that I’m not sure was my father or not still today. And he— he wasn’t a nice guy.” The memories of that man still haunted him despite all the years that passed, just like the feeling of the leash on his back and arms. Daiki clenched his fist, shaking himself back to the present, and took a deep breath. “Satsuki and the King happened to pass by our house, one morning, just while he was waving a stick in my direction like it was nothing, y’know? I didn't know why that kid and that man had stopped to watch, but the next thing I knew was that she was crying and running towards me, ignoring the threat of the stick coming down—“ Daiki stopped a moment to catch his breath, rubbing the skin over his heart, like it hurt. “And then her father, the King, decided to take me with them, under her request. They brought me to the castle, and I never saw that man again. I grew up with her, and swore my life to protecting hers like she did mine.”

Taiga was silent for a long while. He stared at Daiki’s profile, not moving. He didn't pity him, Daiki could see it, but he was studying him.

They weren’t so different. Both of them had grown up poor and lost, and became better, stronger men. The real difference was in their relationship with Shogo and Satsuki. Shogo had exploited Taiga’s misery, and he was still taking advantage of it. Satsuki, on the other hand, had showed compassion and mercy, and she’d offered Daiki a better life, one worth living. Taiga’s loyalty to Shogo was based on unbalance and threats, Daiki’s loyalty to Satsuki was based on years of mutual trust and genuine affection. They weren’t so different, and yet they weren’t the same. Daiki knew and so did Taiga, probably, but neither of them spoke a word about it. It didn't matter, that night, it didn’t change anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had an hard time writing the first part for some reason, even though i already know where i want to bring satsuki's side of the story; i guess i'm not really used to her pov lol i hope i didn't do too bad
> 
> on the other side i'm /very/ satisfied about the whipping part and daiki's thoughts, it was very fun to write the torture and his feelings too, so i hope everyone will like it too
> 
> and DAN DAN DAN we (you) finally found out about taiga and shogo's past, so i hope you won't be disappointed!
> 
> please let me know if you liked the chapter and/or you're enjoying this fic, feedback makes me very very happy and motivates me a lot ♡(.◜ω◝.)♡
> 
> you can find me on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hybristophilica) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/hybristophilica) <3

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hybristophilica) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/hybristophilica)
> 
> i dont bite too hard and i need friends <3


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